The Call of a Jutsu
by Hina-Kitsune
Summary: While walking through Domino Park, Yugi, Joey, and Serenity are pulled to a new world. This world is filled with danger, magic, and new enemies of the like they won't forget. Can the gang help those of this new world fight the new evil surfacing?
1. Ch 1 The Call

Summary: A new world awaits Yugi, Joey, and Serenity beyond the call of a bright light. What will this world hold for them? Will they be able to push forward as they always have, or will they be overcome by the trails of this strange world? Yugi/Serenity, NaruHina, and stated Joey/Mai.

A/N: I had a lot of time to work on this story while waiting for the bulletins I worked on each week at my church to get finished printing.

Disclaimer: Both the Yu-Gi-Oh characters and Naruto people belong to their own respective founders…I can still daydream about certain characters though…

Ch. 1 The Call

Yugi, Joey, and Serenity walked down a pathway through the park. Things had really changed over the past few months. The Pharaoh, Atem, had left for the afterlife or his own time, Tea had left the group and pretty well disappeared afterward, and now even Tristan was beginning to distance himself from the group. He had started to go out with Miho and just didn't seem to have the time for the rest of them. Mai had contacted the group, and she was back in their lives, much to Joey's happiness-though he still wondered why Tristan was using Miho as an excuse to get out of hanging out with them; Mai was more high-maintance and she loved hanging with them. Yugi felt as if it were all returning to the way it was before the Millennium Puzzle. Soon, he believed, he would have no one and be all alone again. It was already starting: Atem was gone, Tea was gone, Tristan was leaving, and it was all a matter of time before the rest left him. He could almost curse himself for ever trusting anyone, but he also knew that without them he never would have survived the last few years, nor would he be as strong as he was.

Yugi jumped as an arm was slung over his thin shoulders. "You wanna come ova latta, Yug? Dad ain't around for da next few days so we got it to ourselves, plus it's Summer Break. Time to relax a lil. And you, of all people, need it."

"I wouldn't want to be a bother, Joey. I'm sure you have other things you would rather be doing than having me over to be in the way." came the boy's quiet reply.

"Yugi, you could never be a bother. We would love for you to stay a couple of days, huh, big brother." Serenity added in.

"O' course. Dude, we really need ta get you outta da shop for a while. You're getting depressed again. Your usin dat voice you used when we first met: dat quiet, unsure, shy voice. You're worryin me, bro."

"I'm sorry I'm worrying you, Joey. It's just, I've had a lot of strange thoughts going through my head lately. I mean I'm seeing everything reverting back to how it was before I solved the Puzzle. Those I thought cared about me left me behind. And every time that thought comes to mind, I can't help but wonder how long it is until I lose everyone..." Yugi admitted.

"Yug, you ain't gotta worry bout loosin us. You're da best thing dat eva happened to us. Dere's no way we could eva turn our backs on ya, bro. And as far as da othas go, well, dey made dere decision and now dey are gonna have ta live wit' it, more or less..."

"I suppose. It's still something that haunts me, I guess. I just don't want to hold out too much hope, you know." Yugi sighed and sat down under a tree. He was slightly surprised when Serenity sat beside him and put her arms around him, pulling him close to her. His face lit up with a small blush, but he decided to let himself be comforted for now.

In Joey's mind he could picture himself smacking Tristan in the back of the head, chewing out Tea (though he would like to hit her...), and actually punching the Pharaoh. He had been the closest, and the blonde could remember Yugi telling him once that Atem had swore to always be by the small teen's side, and now look. Yugi was depressed and the jerk was long gone. Joey sighed, he knew it wasn't really the Pharaoh's fault, but he needed to blame someone for the living picture of Yugi in front of him. He did smirk a little though at the scene. He liked the idea of his best bro with his little sister. It was always an idea he played with in the back of his mind and was always happy with the end result.

Serenity couldn't believe she had been so bold as to actually take the sad boy into her arms, but she couldn't help it. He needed comfort and a simple pat on the back wasn't going to help. On the plus side, she did get to find out the feeling of having him in her arms--something she greatly enjoyed. Her crush on him was definitely growing, but at this point she didn't care, nor try to stop it. Yugi had done so much for her and her brother, and he never asked for anything in return--except being his friend, but that was easily arranged.

Suddenly, all thought processes stopped as the group felt a tug on their spirits and bodies. A bright blue light shot down upon them, blinding the three. They could hear what seemed to be electricity popping all around them, and had the feeling of moving without leaving their spots. Then voices began to ring in their heads. "Master, we don't have much time, but all will be explained soon. For now, rest as you will need the energy once we are finished with our tasks..." Each heard a different voice with the same message, but before they could ponder upon the meaning of what was said they began to feel drowsy and soon all three were asleep.

Three figures stepped out of the light surrounding them, covered in their own blinding lights: one blue, one red, and one gold.

The blue figure stepped over to Joey's sleeping body. From within the creature two lights emerged. "Judge of innocence, you shall hold the key to the soul and the ability to judge one's heart. You weigh one's life and show them the way of change, though you do not have the power to make them change. I also grant you my power over the warriors and beast warriors. Together you shall fight to protect those that are weak and those that are close to your own heart. Your guardians shall be myself, Junpei the Flame Swordsman, Anji the Axe Raider, and Hatori the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. We shall fight by your side through each of you coming trails. Once your skills have awakened you shall be able to call upon me; the others have free range and will come on their own in times of trouble for you. Take care of this power and do not let it go to waste." With that said, the two lights enter the blonde and the blue figure nodded, fading away.

The red figure stepped over to Serenity's sleeping body. From within the majestic creature emerged two more lights. "Gentle Seer, you shall hold the ability to see a person's inner self and true intentions and have the gift of hindsight and future-sight. You will be able to tell those close to you where they have strayed from their path. Lies are useless to you as you shall see the underneath of the underneath, and truths are open books to you. I also grant you my power over all female fighters, be they humans or beasts. Your guardians will be myself, Mana the Dark Magician Girl, Rangiku the Harpy Lady, and Chihiro the Mystical Elf.

We shall fight by your side during the coming trails. Once your skills have fully manifested themselves within you, I shall be able to be called upon; the others have free range and will come on their own to you side if trouble comes. Take care of this power and do not let it go to waste." With that said, the two lights entered the girl and the red figure nodded, fading away.

The final figure, one of the brightest gold stepped over to Yugi's sleeping body. From within this mighty creature's body emerged three more lights. "My King, you hold a pure heart and the power of light. You have the ability to unite others and show them the goodness around them. You shall have the power to banish the tainting of a person's soul and unlock them from their dark bindings. You will be able to locate any that you put your mind on, and control any enemy to help those you hold precious. You will hold entire command of the Shadow Realm: all monsters, magic, and traps are at your call. Together you shall fight to keep those you deem worthy within the light and under your protection. Your guardians shall by myself, Mahadoh the Dark Magician, Koro the Kuriboh, and Miroku the Magician of Black Chaos. We shall be by your side during all the upcoming trails you and those you love must face. Once your skills have been fully awakened I shall come to your call; the others shall have free range and will come at any time of trouble. Keep in mind however, only your guardians may come to you at any time before you begin training and harnessing your powers. The others shall come on rank and strength. The stronger you become, the stronger the monsters you'll be able to call. Please, take care of this power, my king, and do not let it go to waste. You are being counted upon." With that said, the three lights entered the boy and the golden figure nodded and bowed before fading away.

The three teens floated to a bright blue colored light. What was to come next was unknown, but they did know, in their sleeping state, they would face it head on-just as always.

TBC…

A/N: Yes, I know I should have worked on The Transformation, but I do have most of chapter 5 finished. This was numerous chapters in for the above stated reason, so I decided I would go with it.


	2. Ch 2 Calling

A/N: Hey, yeah I finally got the second chapter loaded...Still not quite done with the next installment of 'The Transformation', but in my defence we've had tests in both BioChemistry and Gross Anatomy. Both of which SUCKED!! LOL Anyway, I want to thank all of you that have put this story on alert. Also, thanks to SoulNinjas, Snowy Egypt, and atem4ever for the favorites and comments!!

Disclaimer: The character I have used from Yu-Gi-Oh and Naruto belong to the awesome people that thought them into creation: Kazuki Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto respectively.

Tsunade stared at the letter in front of her. She couldn't believe what she was reading. During an everyday escort mission, there was an attack by the Akatsuki. Naruto and Gaara had gotten separated from the rest of the group, but no one knew if that was good or bad. The remainder of the group had distracted the Akatsuki, but that, too, had come at a price: chakra depletion, severe injury, and no knowledge on the two missing ninja. The village had sent out a search party, but, as the letter read, no sign of the two had been found in over two weeks. The Hokage was starting to worry and get desperate to find them. Kankuro had taken over as the sub-Kazekage, but if things didn't change soon the Sand council may see means to revoke the demon holder's title-or pronounce him dead. "Genma, call Kakashi and Jiraiya. I have something I need to run by them."

"Yes, ma'am." With that the Senbon chewing Jounin headed out to find the two ninja.

Within a few minutes two clouds of smoke appeared and dissipated around the two shinobi in question. "You wanted to see us, Hokage-sama?" came a reply from behind Kakashi's mask.

"Yes. I was wandering if the two of you believed this situation would deem calling out some extra help. So far, we've found nothing, and I know Suna is beginning to worry over Gaara, just like we are over Naruto. I'm sure they are safe, or we would have heard from the Akatsuki by now; the boys were their last targets. But things are getting desperate. You know they were two of our villages' strongest ninja, and we need them both back as soon as possible or there could be repercussions. Other territories may begin to make a move in on the weakened Suna and there is only so much we can help them with. I wonder if we should bring out our 'Other Realm Jutsu.'"

"It may be for the best to at least try it, Tsunade. We just have to make sure we're specific with what we want. If not, well, you know what happened when it was used last time. The Bijuu came here, and because of that Naruto and Gaara are being hunted down and hated for something they had no say in." Jiraiya nodded with a thoughtful look upon his slightly aged face.

"Well, first off, we need to say those we call must be pure of heart. That way there is less chance of them going berserk and killing everything that moves. Also, they should have some kind of abilities that can aid us in our endeavors. Said endeavors should be stated until their need is finished because we may need their help in dealing with the Akatsuki and even the Sound." Kakashi put in.

"Yeah, and a sense of friendship and that are strengthened by it, but not to the point they to where they cannot function without each other or someone else around." Tsunade added.

"Tracking abilities, too. Yeah, we have great trackers here, but even they are having a tough time with this. And a certain someone is getting irritated at not being allowed to go when she may be of some help." Jiraiya stared out the window in the Hokage's office, taking note of said girl looking as if she were just getting ready to storm in, but was afraid she would be yelled at for wanting to help.

"I know Hinata wants to help, but we need her here. We sent out Neji and a few other Hyuuga, so she had to stay. Plus she's still apprenticing under me and working on medical skills. I know, when you perform this jutsu, bring her. You may need what she has learned, and she'll be the best welcoming party for whatever group arrives." Tsunade smiled.

_______________________________________________________

Hinata stood outside the Hokage tower. She was so tired of not being able to help the search party, especially since it involved someone she cared deeply for. She wanted to go right up there and demand to go out in search of said boy, but she was afraid of what reprimand such actions would cause. She was a shy girl by nature and had little self-confidence thanks to her clan always seeing her as a weakling, and let their thoughts be known to her.

She sighed. "I guess I am a weakling if can't even get up the courage to ask to be allowed to search for the one person I really love..." came the girl's depressing thoughts as she began to walk away from the tower.

"Now I wouldn't say that, Hinata. Besides, we have just the mission for you that involves you helping us complete a justu that may just help us find that knuckle head of yours." came a male voice from behind her.

The girl eeped and spun around in surprise to see the two white haired senseis of the boy she was thinking of. "You need my help, Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sama? I'll do whatever you need me to to find him...er, them." She blushed brightly at her mistake.

Kakashi placed his hand on the 16 year old's shoulder. "Just follow us. This jutsu has to be done in private, in case something goes wrong, like last time...."

The Hyuuga girl looked confused. "What happened last time?"

"The Bijuu came to our world, and Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked us..." was the only answer she received, but it was enough for her to understand what the impact could be if anything went awry.

She followed the two through a set of underground tunnels that ended in a large open space akin to a vacant room. In the middle of said room was a rune inscribed in deep grooves. The two advanced shinobi stepped up to the writing, motioning for her stay back in case something went wrong and she was needed then, and began to speed through a long set of hand signs, both in deep concentration. She wondered what they were going to summon if there had been such dire consequences once before. Were things really so desperate that they had to rely on such a risky justu? That train of thought made the girl even more nervous. What if Naruto and Gaara were already in the hands of the enemy or if someone else with ill-intent had happened upon them when they were resting or injured...?

A bright light coming from the runes caught her eye and derailed her increasingly terrifying thoughts. Hinata noticed the two men had their hands locked in the final seal and were still concentrating on what or who they were to summon. After a few minutes of silence, three sharply bright lights flashed: one light blue, one bright red, and the final a brilliant gold. Kakashi and Jiraiya calmed and slumped from the chakra loss of the jutsu, but were happy there was no thrashing and destruction beginning. Kakashi motion the girl over, and the three waited for the dust to settle around those summoned.

When it did finally clear the three were surprised by what they saw. Lying there in the middle of the circle of runes were three teens: two with their arms wrapped around each other and the third with his arms around the other two. The two holding each other looked to be younger than the other with the boy of the two being the youngest as he was the smallest. The oldest wore his blond hair to his shoulders and looked to be well built and around 5'11". The other boy, being the smallest, looked to only be around 5' 1" if that and very thin. He wore his tri-colored hair in a star pattern of spikes, some of which framed his gentle, almost child-like face. The girl wore her auburn hair to the small of her back and framing her face. She seemed to be somewhere between the two boys in height, just closer to the smaller one, maybe 5'3" and was also thin, just not as so as the smaller boy. However, the three ninja kept in mind that sight was usually deceiving and to not judge the three summoned youths until they were awake and could show just what they could do.


	3. Ch 3 The New World

**Hi!! I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've uploaded anything. Vet school once again has been keeping me busy, too busy for a life for the most part (can't even train anymore T_T). I have been able to work on chapter 5 some during classes that the professor does nothing but read directly from the powerpoint... Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. Which brings me to thanking a few (new) people for their favorting, watching, and comments: secret-sorrow, riderpurple, ShinigamiSiblings, hazlov2004, Robin2Nightwing, and Feldoran. The support means a lot, especially with the tourture that I'm going through with classes right now. Anyway, on with the story!

(Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is owned by Kazuki Takahashi and Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I'm only using them for entertainment purposes...and the fact that I love both Joey and Yugi.)

Joey began to stir with a sharp headache and a weight in his arms. He opened his golden brown eyes and looked around, first noticing that the weight was both Yugi and Serenity-both of which were still out-then noticing that they were lying on the floor of a stone-like room covered in runes. As he continued to look around the room he heard muffled sounds that seemed to be voices. "'ello?" Came his hushed voice, afraid to wake the two in arms and cause to much of an alert with those speaking as he still couldn't see them.

That is until one walked in to his view. She had long raven black hair that fell to the small of her back. The girl wore black capries and a purple hoodie, over what seemed to be a well built body, with black high-heeled sandals. She had a kind enough face, but Joey wasn't going to let that fool him-so could Dartz and he remembered the pain he caused. "Hi, how are you feeling?" the girl asked.

Her voice was gentle enough, but he still wasn't sure if he could trust her. Somehow she and her friends had gotten him and his friends into this room after being knocked out in the woods in the park. After all the crazy things he and the gang had been through, he wasn't taking anything for granted. "Jus a bit of a headache, otha wise fine. How'd you get us here anyway? Who are you, another group out to take ova da world with da help of Duel Monstas?" His voice was getting stronger, and he could tell he had spoke with a bite due to the way the girl flinched-that or he had her goal correct.

"No, we don't even know what Duel Monsters are. As to whom we are and how you got here, let's wait 'til your friends wake up. It'll be easier to explain all at once." This came from the man who had stepped into his field of vision. His hair was white and lopped over to one side while the headband he was wearing covered up one eye and a blue mask covered pretty much the rest of his face minus the other eye. He wore a green survival vest over a blue long-sleeve shirt, blue loose pants, black fingerless metal guard gloves, and blue sandals.

Moments later another man came into view. He seemed to be older than the other two combined, but once again Joey's adventures had warned against taking him lightly. Bakura was well over 3000 years old and could still do way too much damage, not to mention Atem's powers..."Scarecrow, go get Lady Hokage. She'll be able to get these two awake if they're not by the time she gets here. Otherwise, it might be best if she's here to help with our case. He doesn't seem to be very trusting, and once they wake up it might just be worse. He could be like the Fox."

The other man nodded in understanding of what even Joey knew was codenames. Joey's eyes swept back over the new presence. His hair was extremely long and snow white. He wore a spiked headband with the symbol of 'oil' on it, and grayish-green stereotypical ninja clothes under a large red vest. Under the vest was large scroll. On his feet were wooden clogs with metal bracers used for the same protection the metal arm guards he wore gave. "Sunny Place, why don't you check the kid out, see if you can do anything about that headache. You're probably the only one he would let near him and the others, if he believes he could take you if you try anything to harm them." The final was said in a whisper that only the girl heard.

After hear the new codename, Joey reasoned that they were most likely the translations of the person's name, automatically believing the person either didn't know any Japanese or was fluent in it, seeing as the rest Joey could understand and knew to be his close friend's main language-and his except when dealing with his father...He noticed the girl shyly walk up to him and reach her arm out. He wanted to pull away, but with being weak and having the others in his arms, he couldn't. She placed her hand gently on his forehead, and a green glow began to shine from it. An instant later his headache was gone as was most of the weakness. Once the girl stepped back, he removed his arms and stood, taking a protective stance over the two still sleeping.

Waiting for 20 minutes for the group to awaken didn't really prepare the two ninja for such an amount of warning killer intent, and they figured the teen didn't even realize he was sending it out. The young man's body was well built, if not a little thin, he seemed to be able to talk big and back it up. He was indeed the 5'11" they thought he was. His dirty blonde hair fell into his eyes and down his neck to brush his shoulder blades. His golden brown eyes were alight with a determined protective fire. Everything about him screamed to leave him and his friends alone, or they would pay. "Calm down, kid. We aren't going to hurt you. If we were, Sunny Place would have done it while she was healing you, and you were weak." Jiraiya stated.

"Yeah right. Heard dat before. You really don't know who you trying to deal wit." The blonde countered. And it was true. To have such a strong aura and not be intimidated by the power they were sending out, especially the Jounin and Sannin. This did worry them some, and they prepared themselves for a fight if he decided to attack. That is of course until a gentle voice rang out softly.

"Joey, it's ok. Back down. They won't hurt us; I can feel it."

The blond spun around to look at the two still lying down. "You sure, bro?"

The smallest of the three slowly stood while nodding and helped the girl to her feet as she, too, was awake. When the ninja's eyes landed on the small boy the first thing that came to both their minds was oddly enough: So Cute! He was small, their estimated 5' 1" and very thin, even with the small amount of muscle viewable. Of course the black leather jeans didn't really help his size any. His hair was the wildest the two had ever seen: tri-colored and star-shaped. But his eyes were what caught both of them. The amethyst orbs seemed to almost glow in the nearly non-existent light. They held an innocence that was not seen in one of his age, not even in non-ninja teens, but as a direct contrast there was a wisdom and power that not even one as experienced as Jiraiya could match. A shiver made its way down both their backs. They understood if they were to fight the boy, no matter the outcome, they would not come out unscathed. The girl had a gentle look, but her eyes, too, held an innocence, but she was also the youngest, they could now tell. Even though, her eyes still held a mild wisdom and strength, but not on the boy's level. She, too, was thin and at the height they had guessed, but now they could tell that she and the first boy to awaken were related in some way.

All of a sudden, the doors opened, alerting the group to another set of presences. Joey recognized one, but the other two he hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet, so he once again stood protectively in front of his little sister and best friend, his aura flaring out unknowing again. "What the heck did you do to them the make them that angry, Pervert?!" came a female's voice, of course the codename caught the three off guard and the one in question to groan.

"Princess, why did you have to call me that in front of our guests?" Said man whined.

"Because you are and since Fox isn't around no one is here to warn them about you." The woman who had spoke stepped into view. She had long blond hair in 2 pig tails flowing down her back. She wore a Gi top and a pair of dark capris. Over the gi she wore a jacket with the symbol for 'gamble' on the back. Her brown eyes showed she had power, even for the seemingly young age, but Joey wasn't going to back down. On her forehead, a blue diamond was centered.

"Can ya stop usin codenames now? It's gettin irritatin." Joey said, catching the quarreling two's attention.

They both looked surprised as the older white haired one spoke up. "You knew we weren't using our real names?"

"I may not have gotten dat gooda grades in school, but I ain't dat dumb. Luck ain't da only thing dat got me ta bein da third greatest Duelist in da world. Anyway, ya said you were gonna do introductions after dat 'Scarecrow' dude got back. Well, he's here, so let's get started on why da heck you kidnapped us out da woods." Joey's voice was strong, causing the blonde woman to smile somewhat gently.

"So, this is the one you said had an aura like Naruto? Do you feel it too, Hinata?" The blonde haired woman asked, looking, first at the younger silver haired man, then to the shy girl.

The girl nodded slowly. "Yes, they are similar; Hokage-sama, but their mannerisms are not all in line."

"Check their chakra capacities while we do introductions." After she got a nod, she began again (though Joey was a little creeped out by the young girl's eyes after she activated them). "My name is Tsunade, and I am the leader of this village. I am the one that asked these two to call upon you. We'll get to why you're here in a minute. This is Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake, Hinata Hyuuga, Shizune, and TonTon." The woman motioned to each of the people as she gave their names.

The last person was a woman with long brown hair, falling down her shoulders, blue eyes that held a calm and gentleness when looking at the three. She wore a simple blue kimono with a blue sash and blue capris with black sandals. In her arms was small pig wearing a blue vest and blue beads. This caught the friends off guard some.

Yugi stepped forward and bowed to the group, the others following suit, though Joey still had his suspicions. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Yugi Mouto. This is my best friend, Joey Wheeler, and his little sister, Serenity. Can you now tell us why you have taken us from our world and brought us here?"

Everyone eyed the boy with varying forms of shock. "What do ya mean 'taken us from our world', Yug? Dis a form of da Shadow Realm or somethin?"

"I mean just that, Joey. But this doesn't feel like the Shadow Realm, plus we weren't met here by Mahado, and you know he would have been here as soon as we got here if that were the case. However, I do know this is not our home; it feels different here, more energy is in the air..." The boy's face took on a look of contemplation.

"Ano...Hokage-sama? You wanted to know about their chakra capacities? Well, Joey here has a large amount, nearly equal to Kakashi-sensei. Serenity is closer to my reserves, but Yugi is edging closer to Gaara-sama or Naruto-kun even." Hinata said in her usual small voice, that reminded Joey a lot of Yugi's when they first met and earlier in-what he believed-that day.

Tsunade's eyes widened at the news. "Thank you, Hinata. That is quite surprising. Yugi, do know of any reason you would have that large of chakra reserves?"

"I'm not quite sure I know what you mean by chakra, so I don't know of any reason." Yugi answered.

Shizune finally stepped up to speak. "Chakra is the combination of life and spiritual energy that is formed within the body and strengthened through training and experience. Ninja use it to perform ninjutsu, genjustu, and to empower their kenjustu and taijustsu. Over time the reserves increase with use of it and through certain exercises."

"I wonder if our adventures had anything to do with it. I mean, we did most of it with by ourselves, 'cept for da stuff dat da 'Items' could only do. I mean, we nearly all been to da Shadow Realm at one point in time or anotha, especially you, Yug. I mean you got da most Shadow Magic at dat. Maybe da Monstas did something ta convert our magic to dis chakra stuff." Joey reasoned.

"That is very possible, Joey. I just wish Mahado or one of the others would show up and explain things to us...For now we will have to settle with your idea, Joey. It's all we have to go on. Now, would you please tell us why we are here, Tsunade-sama?" Yugi looked up at the woman, who nodded.

"We have called you here to ask for your assistance. We have a ninja missing that means a great deal to this village and another village's leader, the ninja before's close friend. They were separated from the rest of the escort due to an attack. There is presently an organization after the two because of circumstances neither had any say in. Also, there is another village pushing to start a war with this village, and the leader is a vile man who enjoys using humans for experimentation for his own immortality. He has already caused this village much heartache, as well as those two ninja that are missing." Tsunade explained.

Yugi nodded and seemed to begin considering what she wanted. "I'm guessing the reason you are leaving out facts is because of the possibility of us not helping?" Tsunade nodded.

"I'm not too sure about dis, Yug. I mean we kinda already retired from da whole savin da world thing when he was set free..." Joey's eyes showed worry and mild apprehension.

"But, Joey, we can't just let them go. They went through all this to get help. I'm sure something that used this much energy had to be a last ditch effort. This was their last resort." Serenity voiced.

Yugi still seemed to be thinking about what to do. On one hand these people did need their help and it wouldn't be right to just blow them off, but then again he didn't want his friends harmed as they were during the Duel battles. All of a sudden a begging, tearful voice made the Duel King's mind up for him, "Please, you have to help us. Naruto-kun needs us, and he never turns his back on those he needs. He's always been alone, but you must help us find him and show him we aren't just leaving him to be taken. They'll kill him if they get their hands on him, just like they almost killed Gaara-sama. Please, I have to know he's ok."

The ninja of the room looked away sadly, while the others looked shocked. Serenity figured out why her plea was so earnest first. "He's dear to you, isn't he? You love him."

The girl nodded. "And I hate to see that awful look on Iruka-sensei's face every time one of our search parties return, and they don't have him with them."

"I'll help. I can't speak for Joey or Serenity, but I will. To help someone in need is a lesson that Atem taught me well during that small time we were together." Yugi stated assuredly.

Joey sighed. "Yeah, like I'd back down afta dat beg. Besides, I can't stand to jus let a girl cry and not try ta do anythin about it."

"You know I'm in. I can finally be of some help in one of the adventures you guys have. No way am I backing down from this." Serenity intoned.

The relief was almost instantaneously spread on the faces of those gathered. All of a sudden a man in strange black and white armor with a bird mask on teleported in. "Hokage-sama? The search team has returned..." With that said he flickered from existence.


	4. Ch 4 Uplifting News

**Two in one day, YOSH! Yeah, I figured while I had the time/break for the night from studying I would go ahead and put up the forth chapter. I know these chapters tend to be short, so I'm working on making chapter 5 a good length. I know I like to read those that have some length to them, but these were the best places to cut off the chapters (at least I thought they were lol). I'm going to start typing up chapter 5 and editing it (this one too maybe) over the next few days, but the brunt of it will probably be done when I go home for Christmas break: no tests to study for, thank God. Anyway, let me know what you guys think and if there is anything that I need to fix as I'm sure there is much (I haven't looked at this chapter for a while, so...).

(Disclaimer: same as the one in last chapter, and keep in mind these characters are not mine, I'm only using them for entertainment purposes)

"Well, let's go see if they found anything." Tsunade motioned for the group to follow her.

Once outside, Yugi and his friends noticed that they were in a large village, one they could easily get lost in...The ground was a mix of coble stone and yellow sandy dirt. The village was surrounded by large, thick walls and around that was a large forest. The village looked much like the pictures of an old day Japan mixed with modern day technology. They followed the ninjas to a large tower in the middle of the city. It was red and yellow with a somewhat thin wall surrounding it. Behind it was a huge monument with 5 heads sculpted into its side. Yugi deduced the faces must be of those that led the village in the past and present because he recognized the fifth as the woman leading them then. Upon arrival at the tower, they also noticed a young man with a nasty looking scar across the bridge of his nose pacing in front of the gate. He wore an outfit much the same as Kakashi with the exception of the mask and his headband sitting correctly on his forehead. His skin held a natural dark tan, close to that of Marik, and his dark brown hair was pulled up in a high pony tail that spiked upwards at the same time as falling around the base of his head. His thin eye-brows were knitted in worry, while his soft brown eyes screamed it.

"Iruka-sensei. You heard about the search party?" Hinata rushed up to the man who had now stopped pacing and looked upon her with gentle eyes.

"I asked the ANBU to notify him when each returns. He is the closest thing to a father Naruto has ever had." Tsunade stated.

"And he is the son I wish to have someday. If only the stupid counsel hadn't killed my bid for adoption of him...Anyway, I arrived as soon as I could leave my class. Shikamaru wasn't too happy about it, but he understood at least. Apparently Temari is here and is hassling him for information when there is none to give. Hopefully that won't be the case this time." The young man mentally took note of the newcomers, but decided there was more pressing matters than why the 3 of them were following the Hokage; besides, if she wanted them to know, she'd tell them.

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Let's hope. Follow me, and we'll hear their report."

Once again they were following the group, this time into the tower and up a flight of stairs to a guarded office that a group of people were standing outside of. Tsunade walked between the group and to the door, opening it and ushering everyone in, the gang included. When everyone was inside, the blonde woman stepped behind her desk and sat in her chair. "Report," was her one word order.

A deep brown haired boy stepped forward; a relative of Hinata's was concluded by his eyes and the way he looked over at her. "Hokage-sama, we found remnants of a battle that seemed to be a few days old. However, shortly after, the trail ran cold. I could no longer sense the chakra residue nor could Kiba gain any scent. We know it to have been the two, and we believe them to be hiding themselves now due injury. The largest amount of blood was not either of theirs; however, each missing ninja's blood was at the scene of the struggle as well as a couple of days trail from the area. The trail ends at a river we believe the two cleaned up at and used to hide their scent. Also, we believe Naruto taught Gaara how to hide his chakra signature so they cannot be found by the enemy while they are weakened."

"Thank you, Neji. At least we know they are still together and can still fight, if a bit weakened. This just means we need to put more people out on the search to canvas the area you last sensed them. Is there anything else to report?" Tsunade looked a little relieved at the news.

This time a feral looking boy stepped forward. His dark brown hair was wild atop his head but was clean cut. Down his face was a red triangular mark under each of his brown eyes, and when he smiled, the group could see slightly elongated canines, that seemed to fit his look. At his side was a large white dog that looked as if the boy could ride him like a small horse. "In both their scents there was a mixing of another animal that's never been that strong before. On Naruto's blood, I could smell a strong scent of fox and on Gaara there was the powerful scent of raccoon-dog. I think they have either merged with them as to keep their opponents at bay or to hide themselves, or the respective creature took them over when they were in trouble. I'm not sure to the extent the merging has occurred, but I know it's there."

Tsunade's face changed from relieved to worried and fearful in the matter of moments. "Are you sure about this, Kiba?" The teen nodded. "This maybe more serious than we originally thought. We HAVE to find them as soon as possible. I'll have the new search team setup by tonight. Dismissed."

As the others filed out of the room, the search team leader walked up to Hinata; his head was hung low. "I am sorry, Hinata-sama. I promised I would bring him back to you, but I have failed."

"No you haven't, Neji-niisan. You helped to find his trail. You have had the greatest luck in locating him and giving us a direction along with hope. Thank you so much." The girl hugged the boy, who blushed due to everyone watching-including the gang.

"Yes, Neji. Don't sell yourself and your team short. You've gotten closer than any other group so far." Tsunade agreed.

"Naruto is my friend, in a way, my first. He opened my eyes and led me out of the darkness that was consuming me all those years ago because of my family. I owe him this." Neji replied.

"Well, we have called for backup. I'm sure you've all noticed the newcomers behind you. These kids have been called from another dimension and have agreed to assist us in locating both Naruto and Gaara as well as helping us with our Snake problem. Please, if you three would, introduce yourselves." Tsunade motioned to the three friends who looked put-on-the-spot.

The smallest stepped forward first and bowed. "My name is Yugi Mouto. In my world, I'm known as the Game King because of my strategic abilities and with the help of my friends I have been through many trails due to my most favored game."

The other boy stepped forward next, pointing his thumb at himself and smirking. "Da name's Joey Wheeler. In my world, I'm da third greatest Duelist in da world--third ta Yug here anyway. I get thru on my great skills at come-from-behind strategies and my duelin know-how." The blonde's chest was puffed out throughout his speech, hoping to impress the new group.

"Doesn't that really mean you just have really good luck," came the feral boy's voice.

Joey deflated from pride and puffed back up from anger, his face turning slightly red. "'Ey! You don't know da kinda crap we went thru on a daily basis startin a few years back and endin--we thought--a few months ago! Don't start wit me! I was hopin I could get away from people wit dat money-bag's atitude, but I guess dey are everywhere..."

"Yeah, right! You little loser, gaming babies are the ones that don't know anything! The Chunnin and lower of this village either have one parent dead or are orphans because of their parent's duties! When you have to deal with killing and death on a daily basis and watching others suffer without being able to help, come and yell at me about knowin loss!" Kiba fired back.

Joey began to seethe and his killing intent shot through the roof. Everyone noticed it, except the new comers, and it worried them. "Try havin to be afraid dat da only parent you got left, da otha abandoned you while takin--at dat time--da only reason you were livin', cuz you never knew just when dey were gonna decide to go gamblin and lose everythin, get drunk, den beat da crap outta ya cuz dey figured it was somehow you're fault! Or never gettin to see your siblin cuz your parents try to kill each other every time dey see each other! Or how bout losing both your parents cuz you were a sick baby and dey didn't want ya cuz--to dem--you were too weak! How's dat?! Need more?! How about..."

"Joey, that's enough." interupted Yugi's soft voice.

"But, Yug, dey just act like dey know everything. You've had your soul ripped from your body a bunch of times, including being shattered dat one time against Pegsy and being control against ya closest friend. I had ta fight mind control, my soul bein either nearly ripped from me or it being swallowed by dat monsta, da pain from bein attacked by Ra and watching Mai lose ta Marik, losing you den listening to HIS heart broken self-loathin cries each night and stopping mine cuz it'd only hurt him more, thus hurtin you. I had ta watch as you gave up dat duel dat almost killed da both of us cuz of da anchor. Den dere was dat time when I was sent to da Graveyard as da Flame Swordsman and almost died at da hands of da Reaper of Cards and den thinkin of you bein controlled to kill all of us. I felt so useless when you fought Panic and dat fire surrounded you. Den I can only imagine what Ren felt like thru all dat, not bein able ta help cuz she ain't a duelist. Da way she was crying when she told us dat Tristan had given himself up ta protect her and Duke and losing his body to dat Big 5 dude den comin back as a metal chimp...Dey got no right ta think dey are better den us. Da Shadow Realm, even from what little I know, is more horrible den dey could ever imagine."

"Yes, I know that, Joey, but they don't. To them, we are just trespassers in their world. They don't know what we are capable of, so it's obvious that they'll look down on us. I understand that, and as you've pointed out to them, I'm used to it. Just calm down, Joey. Besides, you're scaring all of them for some reason. I think the Shadow Magic I gave you is seeping out, and they can sense it. We all need to work on control anyway. I'm sure Mahado will explain it to me as soon as he can, but for now, just calm down and let them decide what they feel about us after they see with their own eyes what we can do." Yugi's voice was gentle and quiet, but held a feel of authority.

"I know, Yug, but you know how I get when people cut us down, especially you. I just wish someone would explain all dis to us. More den what Tsunade told us. I get even more defensive when I'm confused." Joey relented.

"Yep, just like Naruto." Kiba smirked. "So I'm guessing that this squirt is the leader, and you're the attack mutt."

"I wouldn't talk much, dog-boy. And you're just as much in need of chastising as Joey here. You were the one with the snide comment that started this all. Now if you would allow our final guest to introduce herself, maybe we can get to how they can help us, and how we can help them." Tsunade cut in. She didn't want an all out fight because her subordinate wouldn't shut-up, especially since it was as Yugi stated: they didn't know the extent of this groups power.

"Oh, well, I'm Joey's little sister, Serenity. I don't have a title or anything. Actually, I was never really involved in many of their adventures before or after Battle City because I was going blind. Fortunately, Yugi won Duelist Kingdom and gave my brother the listed monetary winnings for my surgery and other medical bills."

"I wasn't in it for the money, Serenity. I was there to rescue Grandpa and the Kaiba brothers. Besides, you both needed it more than I did." Yugi blushed at the praise.

"Exactly how much was this sum given away." came a stoic voice from beside Hinata.

Joey smirked. "Three million American dollars. Pegsy is still payin me for dat tourny."

"Technically, he's paying the both of us then, because with what he gave me afterwards for that and the other incidents, coupled with my investments in Kaiba Corp. and Seto's payments (More like pay-offs...-Joey) for the incidents involving him and his company plus his tournaments, I'll have plenty to keep on fueling more investments in both companies." Yugi said, ending a bit sheepishly after giving Joey an admonishing look.

The other group's eyes were wide. This kid just gave away 3 million dollars to a friend because they only needed it for one thing...Two things went through their minds: This kid is a saint, or this kid is an idiot. *At least we got the purity we were wanting. Someone to do a thing such as that has a deep sense of friendship and innocence. We were given what we asked for.* came Jiraiya's thoughts.

"Let's go outside, and you three can prove to us what you were saying wasn't just running-off-at-the-mouth bragging." Tsunade stood and headed toward the door with her subordinates following close behind.

The gang looked at each other and sighed. Now they had to show off their Shadow Magic, and they weren't even sure they could trust all of the people ahead of them. It was going to be a long day.


	5. Ch 5 Testing

A/N: Hi everyone!! I know it's been quite a while, but Vet school has been killer! Two or three tests a week, long labs, and sitting in one spot ALL day long…Enough of my boring life (trust me, I nearly fall asleep everyday in class…), I really want to thank all the wonderful people that have favorite-ed (is that even a semblance of a word…?), put this on 'story alert', and/or reviewed. You guys have been awesome, thanks for letting me know that you actually this random set of ideas that come to my mind when I should be listening to my professors ^_^

Once again, if anyone has any suggestions on what I can do to make this better or just want to talk, message me anytime. I like hearing from people, and it has come as a happy distraction.

Disclaimer: The respectable series of Yu-Gi-Oh and Naruto, which I have joined here, belong to Kazuki Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto, respectively.

Now on with the chapter!!!

Chapter 5: Testing

Tsunade led the group out to one of the village's larger training grounds. There was where the test of the new comers would commence.

Yugi shook. He was afraid of what they were going to have to do. He knew in hand-to-hand combat Joey would be fine, all the time as a gang member and the formal training as of late showed that. He, himself, wouldn't be too bad if he could make himself use what Atem had ingrained into his memory of his Egyptian training. He was worried about Serenity, but they would protect her no matter what. His biggest concern was a magic battle. He still felt his Shadow Magic coursing through him and knew how to control it, but as far as he knew Joey and Serenity didn't know such control because they weren't trained yet.

After 10 minutes they had finally reached their destination: a large open field surround by trees that shaded the area well. The forest and shade was perfect for the hiding of ninja, but Yugi had other plans. Like the top ranked duelist he was, he had already assessed the basic fighting style of each member of this group all from the way they held themselves and walked and was thinking of strategies all the way to the grounds. He was sure what traps to lay, who to summon, and which spell cards to use. He just hoped Joey was prepared.

Three of the ninja, 2 males and 1 female stepped to one side. Kakashi motioned to Yugi and his friends to go to the other side. The gang exchanged glanced and knew just what to do: wait for the other group to start, and then follow Yugi's lead.

Both groups stared at each other. The ninja had sent out Kiba, a boy in green spandex, and a blonde haired girl. Kiba was practically snarling while the green clad one performed a few stretches, and the blonde flipped her hair back and took an enticingly sensual stance, blowing a quick kiss towards the 2 boys. Yugi's group paid no attention to the distraction techniques as Yugi and Joey's minds had already went to duel-mode, while serenity concentrated on her brother and friend.

Yugi and Kiba were both at the head of their respective groups. Yugi's hand was near his deck, and he slipped into a minor Egyptian fighting stance, confusing the ninja. Joey smirked and fell into a loose fighting stance that combined street fighting and martial arts. Serenity stood at attention, waiting for a signal from the others. Kiba stood cockily in front of his group, his dog standing defensively beside him. Lee stood in his Iron Fist stance, waiting.

Joey blinked and the other group disappeared into the woods. "Keep together, guys. They're fast, but we have our own advantages." Yugi warned.

The small teen pulled a card from his deck and concentrated his Shadow Magic into it. "Come forth, Basic Insect! And I place 2 cards on the field. Now let's see what we're up against."

As soon as the Basic Insect was called, a green blur flew into the woods, but nothing else happened. The ninja hiding were confused as to what the boy had done. That is until they heard scratching in the trees a head of them. They all fell into defensive positions, ready for one of the teens to come at them. What they weren't expecting was a giant praying mantis to jump out, slashing at each person. One of its sword-like arms hit its mark on Ino's arm, and the girl yelped trying to fight back. The giant bug jumped back before she could hit it with her kunai. It began to retreat, having the 3 ninja follow. Once coming to a certain area, it stopped, and the ninja followed suit. Ino had healed her wound by that time and was ready for revenge. All of a sudden the creature gave a loud screech, startling the group.

Back in the field, Yugi smiled at the sign, or rather shriek, from his monster. "I activate Trap Hole and Insect Cannon Lv. 5 which I'll equip to my Basic Insect!"

Those on the sidelines were confused and wondering what the boy was doing and why until they heard the ninja scream out.

"Nice one, Yug! Dey weren't expectin' dat!" Joey laughed out.

"Yeah, but it won't keep them for long. We need to get a more solid plan of attack. Now any ideas as to what we should do?" Yugi kept his senses up, waiting for anything to happen to his Insect.

Before anyone could say anything, Yugi flinched. "Get ready. They're coming." Yugi warned.

The other 2 nodded, just as the other group appeared. Yugi and his friends prepared themselves, but weren't expecting the blonde to perform a hand sign upon arriving. Each one felt something hit them, entering. Yugi followed the feeling, having entered the hall to his soul so many times in the past.

Ino looked around herself, surprised to find herself in a hall of sorts. In front and behind her, the hall stretched on into darkness, forever. On each side was a door, one slightly ajar, the other was closed tight and dusty as if it had not been opened in months. She felt drawn to the old iron and stone door.

Yugi stood in the hallway he missed so much, and part of him was waiting for the Pharaoh to appear and ask him where he had been. The boy felt a calming, welcoming breeze. He smiled wistfully and began to walk forward to find the intruder of his spirit.

"What is this place? Of all the minds I've entered, none have looked like this." Yugi heard a murmured voice say in awe.

He stepped up behind the girl that was trying to open the sealed door. "No one is home at the moment. You are about a couple of months late. However, I'd be careful if I were you as the Realm and the monsters of it do not take kindly to those that trespass upon someone else's soul, especially not mine and the remnants of his. If you would, please, tell me how got here and why, I would be very appreciative."

The blonde haired girl jumped away from the door as if she were on fire, surprised that anyone was there. "How did you get in here?" Ino yelped.

"I asked you the same question, but I'll answer first. This is the hallway of my soul. I recognized the pull your trick had on my mind as I've visited this place many times over the years. This is the hallway between the 2 rooms of the 2 souls that once inhabited by body. My other self has gone, but he's still a part of me. Now, tell me your side before my guardians come to punish you." The moment the boy had entered his soul hall the memory of Ra explaining his power came to him. "Though, I guess I should thank you for helping me to remember what was spoken to me before coming here."

Ino just stood for a second, not speaking, still wanting to know what was going on. "It's a family jutsu that we perform to stop enemies, learn their secrets, and then kill them if need be."

"Well, this mind won't let you discover secrets you aren't meant to see. I'm guessing you've never run into anyone that has the ability, or rather the practice, of putting up blocks of keeping people out of their mind. However, I'm sure you've never dealt with someone with mental defenses like these."

As soon as the boy said that a purple-clad, brown haired, tan skinned mage appeared. "My king, is this woman trying to cause you harm?"

"Mahado! First, please don't treat me like you're my servant. You know me well enough to know I don't like things like that. You're my friend. Second, I think she was just trying to learn secrets to keep her friends safe. But you know how dangerous the secrets locked in here can be. They've destroyed many good people because they couldn't control what they have learned. I don't want her hurt, but I also don't want another Malik." Yugi explained.

Mahado nodded and turned towards the girl. "You will not bring harm to my young master and friend. I am one who is charged to protect him and guide him. Leave now, or I will force you to leave, and it shall not be gentle."

She looked defiant and took a defensive stance, but all courage drained when the mage began to charge his weapon full of dark magic and was preparing to fire. "Kai!" Ino shouted as she performed the correct hand sign, sending her out of the hall of the boy's soul.

Yugi hugged the mage, who smiled and returned the gesture, ruffling his already messy hair. "The others have also dealt with her and remember what each of the respective God Monsters told them before being pulled to this world. Now go, little one. I will be there, by your side in this fight."

The small teen nodded, closed his eyes, and, as a tear fell from his eye, willed him out of the hall. When his eyes opened, he looked around. Mahado was standing beside him, smiling down at him. Joey was shaking his head as if trying to clear it with the Flame Swordsman at his side, who nodded to the young man before he turned worried eyes back to the blonde. Yugi turned to check on Serenity and found her holding her head in pain while Mana stood nervously beside her. The girl's knees began to buckle, and Yugi rushed to her side just in time to catch her. She leaned heavily against him, weak and unstable.

"What happened, Serenity? What did she do to you?"

"Master Yugi, I didn't get there fast enough. The girl attacked Serenity and cut her arm in her spirit form. She's hurt now, and I can't help her. I'm sorry, my king." Mana was bouncing from booted foot to booted foot.

"I'll take care of her, Mana, don't worry. You help Mahado against the ninja, ok?"

The blonde haired mage nodded and ran to her sensei at the same time Joey rushed over to them. He growled at seeing blood seep from her arm and from the corner of her mouth. "Sis!" Joey worriedly mumbled.

"I've got her, Joey, and I can heal her. I need you to help our monsters in keeping those four distracted." Yugi assured.

Joey sighed, nodded, and turned toward the ninja, his killer intent flaring wildly. He glared at each one but his eyes landed on Kiba. "I don't beat up on girls, dough right bout now I'd like ta make an exception. But I ain't gonna start now, so I'll take it out on da one dat underestimated us da most."

Kiba smirked, but it was mostly to cover how worried he was over these strange beings and how Ino was thrown out of each of their minds-two rather violently. Lee had a feeling things were getting out of hand and didn't really want to fight these people that were sent to help them find their friends and fight their enemies alongside them.

Yugi knelt by the girl, her still cradled in his arms. He mumbled something in ancient Egyptian, causing the third eye to shine upon his forehead. He began to glow with a white, gentle light that began to pulsate and cover Serenity's wound and seemed to repair her mind and spirit.

At the sight of the light, Ino began to get nervous and panic. She ripped out a kunai and began to run over to the defenseless pair in order to stop whatever the boy was doing. Mana noticed and flew in front of her, stopping the blonde.

"You will not stop my Master from healing what you did to my charge." Mana cried out, conjuring up a strong wind to blow the other blonde back before running after her. The two girls exchanged blows wand for kunai for quite a while before Mana jumped back, charging for a light magic attack. She blasted if forth and connected with Ino before the other girl could react. What the female mage wasn't expecting was the kunai that was flying toward her. It hit her in the chest sooner than she could block it. The blonde mage slowly made her way over to her king and charge, checking on them both. She smiled gently when she saw Yugi was almost done healing Serenity. With that knowledge she closed her eyes as the wound caused the life energy and Shadow Magic she had taken from Serenity to sustain herself dissipate into nothingness, returning to the Realm of Shadows.

Mahado saw her go and smiled in the direction before turning around and facing the green clad ninja, who looked just a tad bit apprehensive to fight. "Will you stand down, young one?" The elder mage asked.

"It is Tsunade-sama's request that we fight you to test your skills, so I must, even if I do not wish to harm one who was brought here to aid us." Lee replied, sliding into his Iron Fist stance. "I will admit, you are all formidable opponents, and I cannot wait until we are battling on the same side."

Mahado nodded in agreement and poised for an attack, waiting on the boy he already knew had a great speed on his side. By the use of some imagined or silent signal the boy disappeared for his sight, but he just closed his eyes, listening for him to strike. When he heard the wind bend to the boy's attack, the mage brought up his staff both blocking the kick and catching Lee off guard. As Mahado swung his staff at the boy's head, Lee jumped back, blocking the attack and coming in for more strikes. The two exchanged blows for quite awhile, but Mahado had large advantage over Lee: unless he took too great a hit, he released himself, or Yugi released him he never got tired. Lee, on-the-other-hand, looked as if he were ready to call it quits, even if he didn't want to give up. All it took was one miss step from Lee and the mage used a sleeping spell on him, dropping him where he stood. Mahado picked the, now, sleeping boy up and brought him over to where Yugi was working, guarding the two teens from any attacks that may come at them.

Meanwhile, Joey and Junpei faced off against Kiba and Akamaru. Junpei kept the giant dog busy with flame salamandras from his sword. Joey and Kiba traded punches and kicks with fierce vigor. Joey was getting in a few good hits, bruising up the dog trainer's arms and torso, but the other's claw-like nails were doing their damage to his clothes, arms, and face. Joey shot up a roundhouse aimed straight for Kiba's head, but the dog-boy ducked below it aiming for the blonde's now open gut. What Kiba wasn't expecting was for Joey to jerk is leg down in a stomp style while swinging is upper body into a reverse punch, catching him right between the eyes and sending him tumbling a couple of feet. Akamaru was going to take this a chance to get Joey from behind, but a searing flame from Junpei's blade had him jumping to safety, only to be hit with the hilt of the sword due to not paying attention to where his attacker was. Junpei had sent the flame out in curved dragon formation, staying just where he knew the dog would dodge to. The Flame Swordsman returned his attention to the fight between their two masters just in time to see Kiba holding Joey in a lock with a kunai to his throat, and Joey with a card in his free hand. Junpei recognized it as the Kunai With Chain magic card. Just as the blonde was about to call forth the magic from the card, Tsunade called a stop to the fight.

"You got off easy, loser." Kiba smirked.

"Naw, actually you did. See Junpei had already taken out ya lil puppy, and once I activated dis magic card, I woulda increased his strength and gave him a long distance attack. You wouldn'ta been dumb enough to actually slit my throat, cuz den dat leader of your's wouda had your butt. I knew what was goin on and jus how ta win." Joey replied as he walked off to check on his sister and best friend.

Kiba stood with his jaw slack until he heard another voice say, "He's right you know. He had you exactly where he wanted you. If Tsunade-sama hadn't called the match, you would have lost." Kiba turned to see Neji standing there watching the others go up to the new group to check on injuries and the like.

"Whatever. Still don't like them. We could've found those two just fine without these guy's help. Now we're going to have to babysit some brats who can't even take care of themselves." Kiba sulked.

"My assessment is that they can protect themselves just fine, Kiba. There must be another reason you are against them being here. It matters not to me if our Hokage believed we needed assistance from another realm as long as they are not burdens and work efficiently." Came the almost monotone voice of Shino.

Kiba just sighed. "I don't really know what it is, but I don't like the smell of them."


	6. Ch 6 The Truth

A/N: Another chapter down. I know it's been a LONG time coming, and I'm very sorry for that. Between classes in Vet School (first year down by the Grace of God!), preparing for MechaCon (yay I get to meet Vic again ^_^ & Richard Epcar for the first time!), and proof reading reports for my dad who's going through a college course for Pastoral work I've actually been busy. Not only that, but my mom had strep throat & I've been helping her around the house (she's finally over it & I pray that I don't get it just before MechaCon or I'm going to be irritated…lol). I hope this is worth the wait. It's the longest I've done so far at 13.5 pages. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own either of these awesome series. They are the great works of the imaginative artists that dreamed them into life.

Chapter 6: The Truth

Mahado stood over Yugi and Serenity, watching the ninja all around them to see if they would make another move that would warrant an attack. Kiba watched as Sakura rushed over to the green-clad ninja, healing him then checking over the other two. The blonde haired boy ran over to the small group, asking if his sister and best friend were alright.

Tsunade walked up to the dog trainer. "They'll be a huge help, especially with a fair amount of training. The girl may be the weakest, even if their leader looks it. You all underestimated them; though, I will give Lee some credit for realizing how strong they were before taking on that mage. You still need to work on your observation skills, Kiba, both you and Ino. Now, go get Akamaru and have your sister look him over." After Kiba nodded and walked over to his singed dog; she walked over to the others. "How is everything, Sakura?"

"Lee's fine, tired, but fine, as is the kid, but the girl won't wake up. She's healed, and I looked her over, but…" Came the answer.

The village leader nodded. "Take care of Joey's wounds; I'll look at Serenity" The girl nodded and moved over to the blonde.

Tsunade began to look the girl over and also could find nothing wrong. Yugi noticed the worry in her eyes and put his hand on her arm, getting her attention. "She'll be fine. She's never accessed her Shadow Magic before, and with all the energy Mana took to defeat Ino, it drained her. She's sleeping because she used too much energy, and Mana had a fatal hit. I took care of the wound Ino inflicted on her spirit."

"How are you ok then? If this was the first time using those powers, shouldn't you and the blonde be weak?" Kakashi inquired.

"I've had a lot of Shadow Magic practice over the years. I was trained in two of the sections: healing and summoning, up to a couple of months ago. Plus, I've been exposed to the Shadow Realm a few times, so I've gotten used to it. Joey's not weak because the Flame Swordsman returned himself, thus giving the 'Life Force' he had taken back to Joey. Mana didn't leave of her own will." Yugi explained.

"Shadow Realm?" The adults looked unsure and worried as Jiraiya repeated the title.

"Only certain people can access the Shadow Realm, so I wouldn't worry about it. I'll help Joey and Serenity work on what their guardian says their main power is. I will need to work on what Ra told me as well." Yugi assured.

"You'll need training from us as well, especially you, Yugi, with your huge amounts of Chakra. Joey will probably need it too because of his easy anger flare ups…" Kakashi began.

"It's not really anger, it's protectiveness. Joey's like that. He's taken me as his little brother, and Serenity had medical problems that make him even more protective of his baby sister."

"It's not only her medical problems, Yug. Your's worry me too. Especially now dat you been havin some flare ups with ya diabetes." Joey broke in.

Yugi blushed and looked down. "Diabetes? How long have you had it, and what kind of problems does Serenity have?" Tsunade asked.

"I've had it since I was a kid. Joey actually found out by accident when I had an episode at home, and Grandpa told him what was happening. Serenity was born with an eye degeneration disease that was causing her to go blind. That was why I gave him the $3 million: to give her the surgery she needed to be able to see and not worry about having a relapse." Yugi told the woman.

"Let's get back to my office and have a look at the two of you, then get things set up for your training." Tsunade nodded.

Joey lifted Serenity into his arms and followed after Yugi who trailed behind the village leader.

Hinata walked after, still somewhat amazed by what she had seen. She was glad she a activated her Byakugan and watched what had transpired in the woods. "They were incredible, weren't they? I've never seen such Summons Creatures. I wonder what kind of contract they have for them." Neji commented.

"Those weren't summons as we think of. Those were spirits of some kind. I don't think they have a contract." Hinata answered.

"You're right. Those beings didn't have chakra as ones like Pakkun and Gamakichi have… Do you think they can help us, or will? Power like that has a tendency of souring the user."

Hinata shook her head in disagreement. "I can see their true intensions and their true selves. You know that was why father never wanted me to get any stronger; I could reveal the true nature of the elders. I know he was doing it to protect me, but it only hurt…Anyway, they aren't completely pure. Yugi has a great amount of innocence, but it's coupled with this wisdom that I've never even seen in the elders of the village. His spirit is this bright golden light, but there is this darkness that surrounds it, almost like a protective blanket. There is no evil in this darkness, just power and protectiveness. Serenity is, probably, just as innocent, but she doesn't have quite the wisdom he does. Her light is this pale shade of red covered by a creature that reminds me of a red Oriental dragon. It matches the golden light Yugi has. Joey seems to be the least innocent, but has a pure heart. The light of his spirit has dimed areas with shame, anger, and a dark past. His barrier reminds me of a large blue warrior, ready to fight. He would do whatever he must to protect those he cares about, but he's wary of new people and violent towards any that hurt them, especially those two. That's why his killing intent keeps spiking when around Kiba: he's a possible enemy."

Neji just nodded. "Anyone that can help get those two back will be heroes here and in Suna. I just hope they can do it.

Hinata agreed. She wanted Naruto back. She had made a vow that she would tell him her feelings when he was back by her side, even if he didn't feel the same way. His missing like this scared her too badly to back out.

Once in the tower, Serenity was laid down onto a cot Tsunade had in the room, and the woman motioned for Yugi to come around to her side of the desk, beginning to scan him. She noticed that some areas were being healed of the disease. This darkness was gently touching the channels and receptors, opening them to receive the insulin his small body produced. She added her own healing chakra to increase the speed of activation. She was amazed when the darkness reached out to investigate her chakra as if it were an enemy. The Hokage could feel the darkness push against her energy before going back to what it was doing. She got this feeling of someone telling her to be careful, or she would regret a false move.

After a few minutes she was done and got another feeling of the same regal being thanking her for helping their "aibou." She wasn't sure what the feeling meant, and she wasn't going to say anything to anyone until she was able to do a little research on the subject. "There you go, all cured. You don't have to worry about diabetes anymore. You have quite the healing system. It was working to heal the apparatus itself. I just followed its lead. Now, let's get you three someone to work individually with you in extra training so that when the time comes, you'll be ready. Hinata, I want you to work with Serenity. She'll need you to work slowly with her. Iruka, I want you to work with all three. Give them the basic village information and some of the other basics; things you would teach your class at the academy. You can choose how you want to do this. Kakashi, you'll work with Joey, and Jiraiya and Neji, you'll both be working with Yugi. Neji, I want you to help him with accessing his chakra and controlling it, but mostly I want you to keep the pervert in focus. You know how his ADD kicks in if a woman walks past. Once you get a little further in training, Yugi, I'll also work with you on healing. Jiraiya, you'll help him with summoning and anything else you think he may need. Oh, and if you throw him off a cliff like you did Naruto, I'll tie you down, beat you, then let their summons take care of you and something tells me that mage won't be very nice." Once she was done speaking to the ninja-and causing Jiraiya to pale-Tsunade turned to the new comers. "You will work on pulling forth your guardians…"

She was interrupted by Yugi shyly raising his hand. When she nodded he said, "We each have at least one that we can call upon already. Other than them, we'll probably have to work our way up the 'star levels.' I can easily summon: Mahado-the mage from earlier, Miroku-the Black Chaos Mage, and Koro-my Kuriboh. I also have the potential to summon all of the spirits of ancient times. We should, probably talk about what each of us can summon. Joey, you'll be over the warriors, right?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I got warriors, beast warriors, and selects of da beasts and dragons. My guardians are: Junpei-da Flame Swordsman from earlier, Hatori-da Red Eyes Black Dragon, and Anji -da Axe Raider. I can also use any magic cards dat go along with them; maybe some low level traps, too."

"Yeah, I have rein over all traps and magic, but I think they work like my monster summons: levels. I guess Obelisk spoke to you, huh? What did he tell you?" Yugi continued. It was almost as if they had forgotten the ninja were still in the room.

Joey nodded again. "I'm da Judge of people's hearts and can see into deir souls…" He noticed Yugi's eyes widen. "What's up, Yug?"

"You have Shadi's job…" The teen's eyes focused on his best friend. "We have the Items within us." The confused look on Joey's face made the boy continue. "Joey, that was the job of the Scale and Key. Ra told me I have the ability to control enemies, locate anyone or anything I concentrate on, and my power increases with people I trust around me, and I have a large knowledge of the shadows. You know what that means…" The boy's eyes were sad.

"Yeah, you got da Rod, Ring, and…da Puzzle." Joey could tell what Yugi was thinking, so he threw his arm around his shoulders and laughed. "And once again you prove just how 'un-normal' you are, Yug. You get da ones dat came with spirits. Well, two spirits and on severe case of schizophrenia…Now, I guess I gotta walk around acting like Shadi, 'least you can act normal. But what does dat mean about Ren?"

Yugi laughed at Joey's comical nature. "Well, most likely she has the Eye and Necklace within her. What that means for her power, I'm not sure."

"Slifer told me I was the Seer. I see a person's intentions and the truth behind them and where their current path will lead. I can also see where they went astray." Serenity weakly answered.

The two boys rushed over to her, hugging her. Yugi pulled back with a thoughtful look. "Pegasus and Ishizu's powers: the power to read minds and the power to see the past and a possible future. The three gave us the powers of the Shadows. Who are your guardians, Serenity?"

"Mana-the Dark Magician Girl, Chihiro-the Mystical Elf, and Rangiku-the Harpy Lady. I'm supposed to be over the female monsters."

Yugi nodded, but Joey spoke up. "Wait, what about Mai? I though the Harpies were her guardians. Are others watching over her? Will she be ok without them? What about without us…You know how she gets if she thinks she's been left alone."

"Calm down, Joey. She'll be fine. Mahado told me time is different between the two worlds. We could be here for years, but only be gone a few days there. If they start to worry about us, their guardians'll tell them what's going on. Mai will be ok, as will grandpa and the others." Yugi assured.

Joey got a wicked look on his face and chuckled almost darkly. "Bet den Tristan'll be sorry for runnin out on us. We get ninja trainin while he sits at home wonderin what kinda adventure we're havin dis time."

Tsunade cleared her throat, causing the three teens to jump and look at her sheepishly. "Meet up with your assigned ninja trainers tomorrow. For now, Hinata, Iruka, show these three around the village. The rest of you, go get some rest."

The groups nodded and left. "Do you think this will work, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune spoke up.

"I hope so. Then again, I just hope that all of this is just overkill. I hope those two will come back well before these three have finished any part of their training." Tsunade looked out the window, before sending off another group of search parties.

Iruka led the group around with Hinata, both telling them what was where and what were the places to go that were respectable. Many the two told them to not go to seemed quiet friendly, so Yugi finally asked what was wrong with those shops. The girls eyes flashed slightly and the man's gentle face took on a sneer.

"They can't see a true hero when one walks in front of them, asking for service or help. They turn away a small child or give him their worst equipment at the most expensive price or the clothes that are most likely to get him killed or the lowest quality food-mostly borderline rotten-in hopes of keeping him weak and small, maybe kill him." Iruka answered.

"Their eyes are cold when looking at him. They do it to show their hate or to completely ignore his existence. He kept up a false smile as a mask, but inside he was dying, being ripped apart. He had the courage to move on, become stronger, and fights to protect them. You would think they would begin to acknowledge him for his hard and his kindness, but no, those shop owners still hate him." Hinata went on where Iruka stopped.

"Why?" was the one word question they all had.

"That is something only he or Tsunade-sama can tell you, as a law was put into effect against speaking of it by name to anyone who doesn't already know." Iruka told them.

"And it's not your secret to share." Yugi added, earning a nod from them both.

"But the reason for this hatred, it's not his fault. He didn't choose for it to happen to him. When we found out, we were all surprised he hadn't done just as the villagers said he would just because of how badly they were hurting him. Most of us still have problems with this village, or rather some of its inhabitants. We each confronted our parents and elders on the matter, and some learned that their fathers actually protected him from riots. My father was too wrapped up in our clan, then in mourning over his brother's then my mother's deaths to help. He's asked for forgiveness and is better now, but I'm still wary of his actions." Hinata elaborated.

They started walking again, Yugi pensively following. Something was not right in this village. He needed more information before he could understand what it was exactly, but there was tension that he didn't like. He was broken from his thoughts by someone calling out to their group. He looked to where the call sounded from and saw an old man waving them over, a mildly worried look upon his face. The moment they stepped up, the three could tell it was a restaurant of some kind. "Any word?" the man instantly asked.

"Neji-nisan and the others found their trail, but lost it when they hit a river. They are hiding their chakra signatures. We are getting closer, though. These three are here to, hopefully, help find them." Hinata answered.

The man looked disappointed. "I hope we find him soon. The longer those two stay out there, the more afraid I get that they've been captured."

The two ninja nodded in agreement, heads down slightly. The three friends looked at each other, sadly. Joey's stomach decided to break the tension by letting out a resounding growl. The boy sheepishly smiled while Yugi and Serenity giggled. The old man smiled, as did the other two.

"Let's get you three something to eat. Sit down and order whatever you want, and it's on the house. The only thing I ask is that you do whatever you can to help bring Naruto back." The old man chuckled, handing each a menu.

The three quickly learned it was a ramen stand called Ichiraku. The three ordered and were quickly filled. They thanked the old man and followed their ninja tour guides. They passed the many clan houses and Hinata told them who in their group of friends lived where. After about fifteen minutes of walking they came upon a dark sector of the village. This too was an old clan house, but Yugi could feel a darkness emanating from it. It reminded him of Malik's (Yami Marik) aura. "What's here?" he cautiously asked.

"This is, or rather was, the Uchiha clan house. The last two members of the clan turned their backs on the village, one by killing his family except for his younger brother whom he tortured; the younger brother was too power hungry for revenge to see what he had here, to the point of almost killing his best friend, Naruto. After that he ran off to another village that tried to destroy ours. Both have lost their honor as ninja and have been engulfed in darkness." Hinata spoke up.

"Naruto still thinks Sasuke, the younger brother, can be saved. We've also been studying the seal Orochimaru branded him with to see if it's influencing him and to find a way to remove it." Iruka reminded her.

"This house has a darkness surrounding it. It's close to the Shadow Magic Malik used. I wonder…Kuriboh, come out, please." Yugi summoned the small fuzz-ball. "Could you check out his house and let me know what the source of this darkness is?"

The creature bounced up and down as if nodding before flying into the grounds. Yugi, with his back to the road, closed his eyes and, allowing the Eye of Ra to appear on his forehead, watched all Kuriboh saw. Tears came to his eyes as he saw all the blood that had been spilt. He could feel the spirits of those that had been killed, even if they had already passed on. The children who had lost their lives were what hurt him the most. The adults had corrupted spirits, as if they were planning something almost evil. The tears fell as he came a across a spike of fear, in his mind he could hear a crying child begging for his life while asking why this was done. He could feel the boy's spirit and heart shatter. This feeling was close to what he felt when Yami had almost killed Kaiba to win a duel that got out of hand, when Joey had almost lost his soul to Marik, and when he had his body broken apart by the Shadow Duel with Malik. Kuriboh moved on from that spot, but Yugi could still feel the terror. It spiked again in what he imagined was the dojo, the source of the darkness. A large stain of blood lay in the middle of the room. The darkness was emanating from that spot powerfully, not more so than others he had come across-there was that battle with Zorc-but it was strong. He began to get flashes: a son confronting his father about plans against the village; a mother trying to break up the resulting fight; the father trying to kill the son while threatening his other son; this man defending himself, resulting in the death of both of his parents, father using mother as a human shield; other clan members coming in, the elders ordering for the teen's death; the teen killing those that attacked him or for killing the small children and teens; the end result, Yugi saw, was the death of the entire clan; the boy came back to the dojo to hopefully save his mother, but she was gone; the last image the small teen saw was a small child throwing himself into the dojo crying for his parents and brother only to see the teen standing over them both, blood covering him and the adults dead. *Come back, Koro, I've seen enough. Thank you.*

The monster appeared in front of him before cuddling against him, drying his tears. "The elder brother was attacked, and he hid the real reason from his brother. A group of elderly men and women ordered the attack. The adults were killing off the children and teens, hoping to blame him for their deaths. They were planning to try and over throw the village. He tried to stop them, but he was too late and things got too out of hand. His brother found him trying to save his mother, but she was already gone. He didn't want his brother to know the truth behind their clan's evil deeds so he told him he did it all without provocation, just so he could test himself…It shattered the younger one completely, but also the older, he hates himself and what he had to do that night." Yugi explained what he had seen and felt.

"Are you sure? If that's what happened, that changes everything, especially if Itachi is innocent. This information, if true, may even open a new path for Sasuke to be able to follow. Can you confirm this, Yugi?" Iruka was surprised at this occurrence.

"I'm not sure I would be able to tell, that's Serenity's power, but she hasn't been trained yet…I may be able to get one of my summons to sense the truth from him directly. Where is the older brother?" Yugi stated honestly.

"He's a missing-nin now in the group Naruto and Gaara-sama are trying to escape. We don't know where he could be at this point in time. Maybe we can get one of Jiraiya's spies to lure him here after the three of you have more training and in the mean time watch over him. He can be one of Serenity's first tries with her abilities." Iruka elaborated.

The group nodded and once again set off after Yugi had been able to calm. The next homes they passed were very different from the rest. One could hear barking coming from one while the other was hidden by a thick forest. "These are Kiba and Shino's homes. Shino's family are bug users and very secretive, but Shino is a very good friend. He's been in the last five search missions for Naruto and Gaara-sama. He misses Naruto's chaotic nature." Hinata explained, giggling in the end. "He was the quiet one with the hooded jacket covering his face and the sunglasses.

Joey looked at how different the two clan houses were and couldn't help but try to analyze them with a duelist mind. Of course he didn't get anywhere, but he just wanted the image of a friendly, yet creepy Weevle out of his head.

They continued on past a deer ranch that drew Serenity's attention. There was a peacefulness surrounding the ranch making one want to sleep. She walked over to the fence, petting a doe's head. "This is Shikamaru's home. He's the one who's been putting together the strategies for the rescue missions. He's been beating himself up over their disappearance because he was the leader on the mission they were on, and his girlfriend is Gaara-sama's older sister." Iruka informed them.

About then the door opened, and a teen about their age stepped out. His shoulders were slouched, his hands were deep in his pockets, his eyes lazily looked around, and his hair spiked above his head much like a pineapple. His eyes caught sight of the five standing outside the fence. He perked up and jogged over. "Hinata, Iruka-sensei, have they found them?"

Both shook their heads no and he slumped again. "Aww, I was hoping that sending that group would work."

"They found their trail, but lost it once they hit a river. I think they may go back after a rest. Tsunade-sama had these three summoned to help us. They've already beaten Ino, Kiba, and Lee, but she says they have a lot of training to do. They are powerful, and I know they'll help us greatly." Hinata praised.

Shikamaru turned to the three and studied them. Yugi and Serenity blushed under the scrutiny, and Yugi began to squirm as he never liked attention. "They have potential. Who was the one to beat Ino?"

"They all pushed her out of their minds-Yugi actually caused her to release the justu herself-and the being Serenity summoned defeated her." Iruka informed the lazy genius.

The genius' eyes widened as he once again looked over the said two. "You were able to take out Ino? Who defeated Lee?" He knew that had to have been a feat because of the teen's speed. Not many could match, let alone surpass that speed.

Iruka pointed to Yugi, causing Shikamaru's eyes to widen yet again. *That tiny kid defeated the powerhouse and speed maniac known as Lee?*

"Well, actually it was Mahado that defeated Lee, but I summoned him. I was healing Serenity from where Ino had attacked her mind and spirit." Yugi admitted.

"Yug, you were the one that distracted them to give us time to prepare for whatever they were going to do." Joey spoke up causing Yugi to blush again.

"You defeated Kiba, then." Shikamaru pointed out, facing Joey.

"Yeah, me and Junpei got him. Granted it was Junpei sending fire after the dog while I kept Kiba busy til Junpei could come over to help out with him. It ended with Tsunade calling it with both of us at each other's throats, literally." The blonde informed him.

Shikamaru just shook his head, chuckling quietly. "We are showing them around. Do you want to come along?" Hinata invited.

"Sure, why not. I don't need to meet up with Choji for some time anyway." The shadow user shrugged.

They continued to walk past the pastures of the Nara ranch. The next place they came across was a fenced in area whose gate had the kanji for 'eat' on it. "This is the Akimichi household. The guy I'm meeting up with later lives here. They're a family of chefs and ninjas who are always making new concoctions for both the general public at their restaurant and for ninjas to increase the taste of the bars and things we have to eat on long missions and can't bring too much food. Naruto was their favorite food tester. He'd eat anything and give a truthful opinion as to what he thought. " Shikamaru explained.

The air was heavy with the scent of food being cooked causing Joey's stomach to growl. "I think I could stay quite a while in that place."

The others laughed slightly as they continued on. The next houses they passed were smaller non-clan houses. The next large housing complex was huge and had a traditional Japanese feel to it. There was also a coldness that surrounded the barricaded house. Yugi's eyes narrowed slightly. Something wasn't right here. "This is my clan's house. Neji and I live here with the rest of our clan." Hinata's pace quickened, as if she were trying to get away from the area as quickly as possible.

The others increased their speed as well, to keep up with her. The gate opened and the air seemed to grow colder. Yugi turned at the sound and got a bad feeling from the man that stepped out. His eyes were hard and grew harder when he saw the raven haired girl of their tour group. "Hinata! Where have you been? I waited for you to come for your training this morning. You wasted my time with your gallivanting. What was more important that our training session this morning?" The man's voice came out cold and scathing, rubbing Joey the wrong way.

The blonde practically growled when he looked over at the girl who seemed to be folding in on herself. "I was asked by Tsunade-sama to assist Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya-sama with an assignment then to help assess the newcomers with us. Ano, and she asked Iruka-sensei and myself to get them acquainted with the village. I'm sorry. Next time I shall tell Tsunade-sama that I must decline her order because I must be home." The girl's head was bowed and her voice was quiet, nearly no hint of the girl they knew before.

"See to it that that is what you do." Hiashi growled out.

"Oh, so you think you're better den da leader of dis village, da woman dat if she knew you felt dat way would come afta you. I bet you'd wet yourself if dat were ta happen. Should we try out my theory, you poor excuse of a human?" Joey sneered, coming to stand in front of the glaring man and staring him in the eye.

"And just who are you, boy?" came the cold man's reply.

Iruka stepped forward, hoping to ease the tension. "These three have been summoned by Tsunade-sama to assist in the retrieval of Naruto and Gaara-sama. Their names are Yugi Mouto, Joey Wheeler, and Serenity Wheeler. The last two are brother and sister."

"I really don't care who they are. This one is in my way." Hiashi cut the young man off.

"Yeah, well I don't like your crappy attitude. You need to learn how to treat people. You act like you think you are a ruler or something. Well, guess what, I've known a ruler, and he was a better man den you when he was 5!"

"So this is the Hokage's idea: send an idiot to find an idiot. Out of my sight you worthless urchin." Hiashi demanded, his cold eyes barring into Joey's golden-brown ones.

Joey began to seethe more. He growled, a sound coming out much like that of an animal's growl. The teen's eyes began to glow a bright blue as his anger grew. His hand floated up, as if by its own accord. His palm was facing Hiashi and a black ball with blue and purple crackling lightening began to form. "Joey, no! Calm down!" Yugi leapt forward, grabbing a hold of the outstretched arm pulling the Shadow Magic from the boy as he started to calm.

The blonde was breathing heavily from the strain of activating his powers. However, all the work Yugi did was shot when Hiashi opened his mouth again. "Yes, do as your master says, you mutt."

Joey lashed out again, breaking from Yugi's grasp, his Shadow Magic blazing. Hiashi activated his Byakugan, preparing to fight, but had to immediately shut it off due to the sheer power and strength of the chakra and Shadow Magic coursing through him, and for the first time, Hiashi was worried about fighting the boy. Yugi lunged forward again, his own Shadow Magic active. He was hoping it would work like last time, but he could only slow it down and thanks to having to heal Serenity, he was tired and mostly spent. "Mahado! I need your help! I can't hold Joey back for much longer!" came his desperate call to his guardian.

Instantly the mage appeared, assessed the situation, and activated the Energy Drain magic card, ripping Joey's power from him and leaving the said teen weak. He collapsed into Yugi's arms, nearly overtaking the small teen. Mahado picked the blonde up, saving his young charge from a crushing. "What happened, young one? Why would Joey of all people lash out like that?"

"Let's just say that the sir over there used some actions a little too close to home. Now we just need to get him somewhere he can rest." Yugi answered.

"You too, Yugi. You've used way too much energy as it is." Serenity commented to which the boy nodded.

"I'll go see if Hokage-sama has living quarters set up for you yet. I'll be back as quickly as I can." Iruka said before leaping off in the direction of the Hokage tower.

"I guess we'll just have to wait here until he gets back." Yugi sighed.

"Please. Come inside and rest while you wait. I am sorry for my previous actions." Hiashi offered.

Yugi looked into the man's eyes and read him. The dark haired man could feel the teen probing his mind, looking for any lies he may be saying. Once he saw that the man was being truthful he nodded and motioned for the others to follow him inside the compound. "I'm going to head on and meet up with Choji. It was nice meeting you guys. It'll be interesting to see what you can do in the future." Shikamaru waved before slowly walking off to see his friend.

Once the group was inside and settled on the many couches in the main room Yugi decided to question the man on what had happened on the streets. "Why did you verbally attack us like that? You didn't even know who we were, and you just lit into us as if we were beneath you. You do realize we could have been liaisons from another village or visitors thinking about taking residence here after we proved ourselves by helping to find the two that are so important to your leader. Do you believe it is such as good idea to react in such a way to strangers being escorted and given tours by three of your well known ninja?"

"It was not at you that my anger was toward, nor was it aimed at my daughter. I just dismissed a council meeting with the elders of this clan, and some of the things discussed both angered and disgusted me. You see I am the leader of this clan and must sit through the complaints of my council on a weekly basis and that meeting was today." Hiashi answered.

"When am I to receive the brand, father?" Hinata's quiet voice spoke up.

"I was able to take that idea off the table, but my advisors have set up another offer. They do not believe anyone would want to be wedded to you due to your 'lack of abilities' as they put it, so they want you to be married off to a noble for our backing and our money. I have gotten them to put off picking anyone for you until you are 18, but they are not happy about it. I'm sure they are doing it now behind my back. I am sorry, but there does not seem to be anything else I can do, daughter." Hiashi answered, causing the girl to sigh in relief, but look away in sadness.

"You mean your control is that weak? You are the head of this clan, right? These elders are just your advisors. You only have to take their ideas into consideration. You are the one who tells the clan overall what to do. If you can stop the 'branding', then this can't be harder to stop. Just tell them that it's not what you want for your own daughter. They can't argue with you on that. It's a selfless act on your part, and if they push it, it'll just make them look bad in the eyes of the rest of the clan." Yugi interjected.

"It's not that simple, boy. You have no idea how hard it is for one person to govern an entire clan, especially one as prestigious and large as this one." Hiashi's cold eyes fell onto Yugi, but the boy didn't back down. Actually he seemed angered almost; an angry crimson color began to mix with the gentle amethyst.

"You think you have it oh-so-bad, then? This is one tiny clan compared to what one man in olden days had to care for. He ruled an entire COUNTRY. His advisors wanted to marry off his son because they could not control him, and he did not believe the way they wanted him to. He would be a Pharaoh to bring peace and prosperity to the entire country, but they only wanted to fill their own pockets. They had twisted the truth to the point to where the citizens thought it would be best the boy go away. However, because he was king the father's word was law and no one could go against what he said without severe punishment. He, in order to protect his son from a life of unhappiness, set forth the law that under his rule and his son's that arranged marriage wasn't allowed. His son was allowed to stay and a short time later became the Pharaoh. During his short reign, he saved the world by giving up his own life, his spirit, to seal away the demon that had been released upon the land by an evil spirited tomb robber out for revenge. If the father would have bowed down like you did and are doing, then the world we are from would have been ransacked and destroyed 5 or so times over. Step up, do your appointed job, and protect your clan." Yugi growled out.

Mahado chuckled. If there was one thing that got Yugi's temper started it was something taking light of his knowledge and acting as if they were the victim of everything. "Your ancestor would be proud, young one. He always did say you would have been a powerful Pharaoh."

Yugi instantly began to blush and look down sheepishly. "I'm sorry I let my temper get the best of me, but I don't like to see people sell themselves short, especially if I do know someone who's had it worse in the line of conversation."

"No, you are right. I have been taking the easy way out by letting them dictate every one of my moves to me. I will take your advice under stronger consideration. Thank you. What is your special talent?"

"Oh, well I've always been the best at every game I've ever played. If I were to ever be beaten at one, then I would study every move in that game until I had mastered it. At home, I'm actually called the 'King of Games.' Once I've mastered the game, no one can defeat me if they play fair, and sometimes even if they don't." Yugi answered.

"So you are a strategist. Would you mind if I tested out your powers while we wait for Iruka to return and for your friend to awaken?" Hiashi asked.

"Sure, what game?"

"How about chess? I know it is not nearly as trying as Go or Shoji, but we may not have enough time to get a game of those started. I'll have someone get the board." Hiashi offered as Yugi nodded in consent. "Hitsu. I need you to retrieve the chess set for our guest and myself."

The stoic looking man nodded, bowed, and left to fulfill the request. A moment later he returned with the set in his hands and laid it between the two players. Yugi stood up and smiled at him. "Thank you very much, Hitsu, sir. Would you like to stay and play after we are finished?"

The man was taken aback, but politely declined in any case. "No thank you, young man. I need to get back to my other duties, but I would propose a rain check. Maybe at a later date we could play another game. Chess has never been my strong suit." Hitsu smiled at Yugi before bowing, turning, and leaving.

The actions for the branch member surprised Hiashi. The man was one of his more disgruntled members, and he had never even seen the man smirk, let alone give the gentle smile he flashed Yugi. This boy was defiantly someone to watch as he had the seeming ability to warm anyone just by looking at them. Yugi turned back to him. "Are you ready to start?" At the man's nod, he sat down and looked at the pieces before giggling. "White, the usual symbol of Hikari, which was my old nickname by a friend and brother and just so happens to be my middle name, how fitting."

The older man just nodded in acknowledgement, until he felt a shift in the air. He looked over at his opponent to see if he felt it as well when he realized just what the shift was caused by. The boy now had an almost royal air about him, and when he looked into his eyes he felt as if they could see into his very soul. In that instant he knew why this boy was given the title of 'King of Games,' and why he was chosen as one of the ones to bring back the two heroes.

The two began their first turns and within 20 minutes Yugi had soundly defeated the clan head. The air about him faded and it seemed as if he were the same sweet child that he had met outside the compound earlier. However, none of that was really registered as the man tried to figure out just how the heck the boy had beaten him so easily. Yugi giggled again at the shocked look and was one of the only two to acknowledge the opening of the door when Iruka and Neji stepped in.

Both were confused why the two Hyuuga were so out of it until they saw the chess board and Yugi's large grin. "I won." The boy announced.

"But how so easily?" came Hiashi's still shocked voice.

"Oh, I mastered chess when I was four. Grandpa just let me play around with it after he taught me the rules. Three months later I challenged him to a game and won all six we ended up playing. After that, as a way to test my IQ, he showed me both Go and Shoji, and I mastered them within the year. Like I said, games are my expertise." Yugi answered.

"You should play against Shikamaru then. Shoji is his favorite game, and he has an IQ of well over 200. He may be able to give you a real challenge." Neji stated before greeting the others and bowing off to go clean up after the mission.

"Yeah, I'll have to ask him sometime then. So, Iruka, has Tsunade-sama found us a place to stay?" Yugi smiled.

"Yes, and we'll go as soon as Joey wakes up." Iruka nodded.

"Let's go den." Came Joey's slurred voice. He sat up and looked around before his eyes landed on the chess set. "Aw, you played a game against da stuck-up and didn't wake me? Dat's no fair. I wanted to see ya beat him, Yug."

Yugi giggled. "You needed to rest after all that energy was drained away. Besides, it was just a small game. There will be others, I'm very sure of that. Are you ready now, Joey? Can you get up?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's go." The blonde stated as he slowly stood up.

Yugi turned to the clan leader and bowed. "Thank you for letting us rest here. And please, take my advice to heart. If you don't it very well could ruin quite a few people's lives." With that said the boy turned to walk away with his friends.

"I will do just that, Yugi, for today you have gained my respect." Hiashi admitted.

Yugi flashed him and Hinata a smile before disappearing out the door and following Iruka to a large compound. "This compound hasn't been used in 16 years, ever since most of the clan was killed by an attacking force that nearly destroyed the village. Your house will be that smaller one over there. There are exactly three bedrooms upstairs, so there is enough room for all of you. Hokage-sama has had it cleaned, stocked, and repaired so everything should be up to par. I'll be back in a couple of hours so that you can get clothes and training gear for when your lessons begin. These new clothes will save your present clothing from getting torn and so that you can blend in a bit easier." He led them into the house before waving off to get back to his class preparation.

The three sighed before heading up the stairs and to choosing their rooms for their long stay.

A/N: Just thought I should add in the fact that, no, Yami is not secretly returning from the afterlife to heal Yugi's illness or play games for him. Some of his spirit may have been left behind due to their connection, but Yami's not really there. Now, if anyone wants him to be, then let me know. I'll try to find some way to bring him back to the group, if only for the length of this adventure, but he won't be the main hero. Yugi, Joey, and Serenity are the ones in the spotlight & as much as I really do love Yami, he was given too much time to be in the forefront. It made it seem like Yugi was only there as a vessel & when he did help, it was kinda like, 'Oh yeah, he is a main character who can do stuff. I had forgotten…' Besides, I love Yugi & I think he is awesomeness lol!


	7. Ch 7 Training Begins

A/N: Holy Kenshin, it's been a while. I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get this up. I'm almost finished with the next chapter, which is a continuation of this one. Tests have been killing me these past couple of months and this summer was full of me getting ready for MechaCon with art for autographs and gifts. I've been working on this the entire time, and I just realized how long this chapter had gotten: 30+ Microsoft Word pages, so I have cut in half, kinda. It depends on where I stop with the rest of the next chapter (yes, that means I'm STILL writing/typing on this). Anyway, I hope it's not too boring, and you guys enjoy it. The next chapter should be coming along fairly soon since I have no tests this week, and I'm trying to wrap it up. Anyway, on with the story!

Chapter 7: Training Begins

The three friends stared down the short hall holding three doors to three nearly identical bedroom-bathroom combination rooms, two on one side of the hall and the other on the other side. Yugi yawned. "I think we should go ahead and choose our rooms. I may fall asleep for a while."

The other two agreed and broke the group to head into a room each. Joey and Serenity took the two rooms on the same side while Yugi nearly stumbled into his. Yugi's had a sky light, much like his in their home world. A training dummy was found in one of the closets along with a set of scrolls, both blank and full of writing. The young man made a mental note to look at them later. A small table was set beside the bed and on it was a small alarm clock, which he set for a couple of hours later. A dresser was set up between the two closets. He took off his jewelry, placing it in a top drawer. He pulled off his uniform jacket and the thick, white, baggy button-up he had taken back to wearing. They were both hung up in the non-training closet. He stretched, and the fitted shiny black leather sleeveless tightened around his small but well muscled torso. His deck belt came off next, then his boots. He climbed into the bed and was soon sleeping peacefully, not noticing the figure watching him before shaking its head. The person made a motion to the creature below him, and it began to quickly hop off.

Joey took the room across the hall from Yugi's. His had a simple design, much like the other two: two closets, a dresser, a bed, a small table, and an alarm clock. A window was at the foot of the bed, on the opposing wall that the head board was on. The floor was wood, as it was in most of the house, with a small rug just beside the bed. Joey pulled out the training dummy and smiled almost wickedly. He would have fun with that later; in fact, he was already trying to decide who's picture-drawn of course-he would plaster on the face area first. His best friend and little sister should have been just about asleep, so he decided to go explore the house and grounds.

Serenity's room was identical to her brother's, including the placement of the window. Serenity slipped off her shoes and lay down in her bed to sleep.

Joey quietly walked around the house finding the living room, dining room, and the kitchen. He was happy to note the latter was fully stocked. He left the house after taking a piece of the cake on the counter. Walking to an opening in the compound, Joey looked around. "This place is huge. Bet Kaiba'd be jealous." The blonde chuckled. After a few seconds he sat down underneath a tree. Minutes passed and the boy finally sighed. "I know you're there. Why don't you just come on out?"

Kakashi jumped from the tree beside him, and Joey lifted his eyes toward the white haired man. "I'm surprised you noticed me. How'd you do it?"

"Years in a gang, martial arts training, psychos trying to take over the world…Take your pick." Came Joey's uninterested answer.

"You were in a gang? You don't seem the type." Kakashi sat down below the tree he had been in.

"Funny that's the one you zero in on. What, don't think we have the same definition of 'psycho'," receiving a shrug, Joey sighed. "I had some problems when I was younger. Like I said, ma left my father and me taking Serenity. She left me with him to take the abuse on his drunk nights, or the nights he lost some money gambling, both of which ain't fun when you're ten, and it happens nearly every night. Soon I joined the gang. I had enough endurance and will power that I became the second in command. Never once would I let the others with me hurt anyone smaller or weaker than us, but we were always taking on gangs from high school, usually 4-5 years older than us, more often than not we won. I got out when they started doing more than just beating people up, and went to the police with the info. They were willing to forgive what I had done, which wasn't much granted, for that information. I went back to the gang only once when they threatened the kids in our school, namely Yugi. I did break one of the guy's nose after he punched Yugi, and we were back at the hide out." He noticed Kakashi's eye slightly widen. "What? That wasn't nearly as bad as the time I broke a guy's jaw for punching Yugi over a video game and then taking his puzzle."

"Protective, aren't you." Kakashi commented.

Joey shrugged his shoulders. "Yug saved me from myself. I need him just as much as he needs me."

"Those psychos you mentioned…Generally, what were they like? It may help with some of your training, especially with some of the people we are against." In truth, Kakashi wanted material for genjutsu to use against the blonde later.

Joey hesitantly began to explain some of the things they had been up against. Kakashi hid his shudder as Joey explained the feeling of losing Yugi the two times his soul had been ripped from his body. He didn't want to admit it, but he was beginning to admire the three teens for what they could go against. He wondered what it was going to be like when they meet Orochimaru and his little group of sadistic experimenters and experiments.

When Joey was no longer willing to go on, Kakashi nodded. "That should suffice. I want to spar with you, no summons by either of us." Joey nodded and stood as the silver-haired man did. "Start whenever you want, just remember to come at me with everything you have."

Both slipped into fighting stances, preparing themselves for the coming spar. Joey began by circling toward the man's covered eye. Kakashi turned his head slightly to follow him, but mainly listened for the blonde. He dodged the backhand-faked grab, but was caught by the timed roundhouse. Kakashi grabbed the boy's leg, but Joey jumped forward, bending his knee, burying his fist into the side of the Jounin's face. As the spar continued punches and kicks were thrown from both sides, neither was going to get out unscathed. Joey fought as his sensei had taught him, but it became apparent quickly that all the fair play he had learned wasn't going to be enough, so he decided to call upon his street fighting abilities. Kakashi quickly noted the change in his pattern: where before he was straightforward and a bit predictable, now he was sporadic. The teen was leaving all kinds of openings, but as soon as Kakashi tried to use one against him, he was defending it in some unorthodox way. Hammer-fists to the ninja's head would become a knife-hand to the neck in the instant before connecting; elbows were thrown to hide reverse punches or palm-heels. The boy even faked a spell of exhaustion so he could get in two perfect front roundhouses: a rising and a driving. That move had almost put Kakashi out, but he kept moving and the adrenalin stopped the pain for now, but he knew it was just a hold off especially since the driving one had expelled nearly all the air from his lungs.

Joey was doing very well, but his chaotic fighting did not come without some mishaps. He jumped away to assess the damage so far: his head was spinning from a well placed backhand, his ribs throbbed from the numerous reverse punches and vertical punches he had received, his nose was bleeding from a lunge punch he should have seen coming, and his right arm was hanging limp thanks to a happily defended side kick—it could have broken every one of his right ribs, floaters included, it was powerful enough. He knew Kakashi was feeling the fight, and he went over the solid connects he had made: the textbook perfect hook kick to the man's head thanks to a feint he had used to get behind him on his blindside, the knife hand that had disrupted the man's movements due to the attack on his spine, the reverse and vertical punches to the man's ribs and kidneys, and his crowning achievement being the front roundhouse combination of one rising to the meet the ninja's groin and the other slamming into his solar plexis driving out the air from his lungs and causing the set of organs to spasm and cutting the man from his oxygen supply for a while.

Both fighters were tired and breathing heavily, so Kakashi decided that that was enough for the time being. "That was well done. You show a lot of promise, kid."

Joey just nodded his thanks as he fell to the ground, adrenalin leaving him and making his muscles too heavy to hold up and too weak to do the holding. Kakashi quirked an eyebrow while trying to fight off the need to flinch and somehow soothe the sharp pain in his groin region. "I wish I could get up and head back to the house, but my legs don't seem to remember how to function…" Joey sighed and began to rub his legs roughly to get feeling back into them.

Kakashi walked over and pulled him up, letting the teen lean on him as they walked back to the house. Once inside, Joey collapsed onto the couch while Kakashi took one of the sofa chairs. The blonde's arm covered his eyes as feeling began to slowly return to the rest of his body, but he was still weak. A glance at the clock in the room told him that he had been out for nearly two hours, and the back of his mind noted that Iruka would be coming by shortly to take them to get clothes and supplies.

"So, you say that Yugi saved you from yourself and that the two of you need each other. It must be nice to have someone close by that you know you can rely on no matter what may come along, but that's also what makes losing them that much harder. You expect that they will always be there, that little extra amount of sunlight in your daily life, even if you're not side-by-side all day every day. Eventually you take them for granted, and it's a cold slap of reality when they leave you one day." Kakashi began.

"Yeah, it does suck when that happens, but you see, Yug and I, we ain't going to let anything come between us. We've had too much stuff to try and tear us apart for that. Besides, Yug knows I'd give my life to protect him, and I know he'd do the same. We used to put our souls on the line nearly every week, so what's the difference? You sound as if you no longer have anybody that you can count on to be there for you, friend-wise." Joey looked over at the man who nodded in agreement.

"I don't. I lost my friends years ago. I never got the closeness with my set of Genin as the team I was in when I was a child. They each had others they could go to, so I just left it alone. Of course, look where that got them: one betrayed the village and the other two aren't even under my command anymore. Of those last two one sticks to the hospital as if it's her only reason to live and the other will be killed if we don't find him soon—even though it's a high possibility that we are already too late."

"You can't just give up hope like that. Besides, you don't know what they thought of you. Maybe they thought you were too busy and important to go to for little everyday things."

"Not likely. Naruto would go to Iruka if the villagers hurt him before he would come to me, and Iruka would always coddle him as if he were a child still. There are times I wonder, though, if being away from the village would be better for the boy. I mean, now he's with a friend that has felt his pain and gone through much the same things that he has, so maybe the best thing is to just leave them alone for a while. He would come back on his own if he wants; at least I believe he would." Kakashi nonchalantly stated.

Joey stared at him for a couple of minutes before speaking again. "So, what's your point in life? I mean, your life has to be pretty dull if you have no real purpose behind every day. You apparently don't even want your own student to be found safe and sound."

"What? My point in life? For one, I don't see as it's any of your business. Secondly, what kind of goals could a punk kid like you have?" Kakashi's face had taken a hard look to it.

"I was just making an observation. That's what you do as a duelist. I'm sure it's the same as a ninja, huh? You know, you learn more about the people you'll be working with to help them reach their goals, even if they don't coincide with your own. Anyway, one of my goals is to do whatever I can to protect those that are around me, something I would think would be important to you. I would think you would do whatever you could to keep from losing your friends again." At hearing the slight growl coming from the ninja, Joey knew he had struck a nerve. "I would give my life to help and protect Yugi and Serenity. Heck, I've nearly given my soul twice protecting my girlfriend, Mai, and with Yugi it's been about three times, maybe four—you lose tract after the first couple of times. And I know that Yugi is willing to do the same. Actually, for his grandpa, a kid named Mokuba, and that kid's older brother, Seto Kaiba—who couldn't stand Yugi at the time—he DID give up his spirit. Later, Yugi sacrificed himself again to help a guy that was like his brother—twin brother that is. We know where our allegiances lay. We three will do whatever we can to get this Naruto and Gaara back. The question is: are you willing to do whatever it takes?"

The room was silent for a few seconds, the only sound being that of Kakashi's harsh breathing. In an instant, however, Kakashi was at Joey's throat, kunai out and poised to slit the teen's jugular vein and carotid artery sheath. "You know nothing about me and who I am you brat. You have no right to make any assumptions, or to question my loyalty to those around me. Don't believe that because you are guests here, were asked here to bring someone back, I won't kill you if I see the need."

"You wouldn't be able to do it. Yugi has a dark side like you wouldn't believe, especially as sweet as he is. Not only him but the monsters would torture you, and let's not forget about Tsunade-sama. Besides, I wasn't questioning your loyalty; I was questioning the quality of your life." Joey answered. He knew that right now he was weak and couldn't fight back; he probably couldn't even call out Junpei. He had to delay the angered ninja for a few more minutes. He knew Yugi would be waking at the tension—he always was sensitive to such things as changes in energy—and that Iruka would be by soon.

The knife cut lightly into Joey's flesh. "That's not how I heard it. Besides, I could always tell Hokage-sama that you became a traitor so I had to kill you, and that little friend of yours couldn't do much to me…" Kakashi was cut-off by shouting from the front door and the stairs: one yelling his name, the other crying out to Joey. Suddenly, his hand was covered by a crackling blue, purple, and black orb. The man's head shot to the door to see Iruka's pale face staring at him in shock. He then turned to the stairs to see Yugi standing there, but the look on the boy's face made his blood run cold.

Yugi had awoken from his nap with a sense of danger and unease. He stood and stretched before pulling on his boots. He decided that his extra shirt, jacket, and jewelry would just be a pain to have when trying on clothes and such, so he opted out of wearing them.

The unease hadn't left him, and he knew that something bad was happening. This was the same feeling he got when Marik had taken Joey and Tea. With that in mind, he quietly slipped out of his room, so as to not alert an intruder—if there was one anyway. He slowly made his way to the top of the stair case so that he could look out into the living room when he heard Kakashi speaking with a dangerous voice to who he assumed to be an enemy. The boy's heart almost stopped when he saw the silver haired man crouched over the tired body of his best friend with a look of hatred and promise of death in his visible eye. Anger filled Yugi when he saw the red of blood drizzle down Joey's neck. His vision tunneled and a familiar feeling came bubbling up within him: the darker side of his Shadow Magic.

The teen stood taller as his face took on a look of white hot anger and hatred. These people bring them to this world under the pretense of helping them and when they have agreed they start to kill them off one by one without probable cause. An infuriated roar resounded in his head accompanied by many other sounds of fury—the Monsters were ready to maim and kill. These feelings fed into Yugi as the eye of Ra appeared upon his forehead, shining brightly, and his eyes narrowed, taking on an almost crimson hue mixed with the amethyst. "JOEY!" he cried out. His hand shot out, his Shadow Magic surrounding the kunai in the Cyclops's hand. The force of his power caused a strong wind to kick up around him, whipping his hair and clothes around, and he knew if he had been wearing his jacket around his shoulders like a cape and a few of his bangles and bracelets he would have looked even more foreboding—it had always worked for Atem.

He watched as Kakashi turned to look toward the door—where he had sensed Iruka to be standing. The teacher was thoroughly surprised, so maybe this was just a thing with this man. Either way, he would break his hand and let the Shadows begin to consume him if he didn't back away from Joey soon. Yugi then saw the man turn to look at him, as if the younger one at the door wasn't worth the glance he had given, and he couldn't help the smirk that formed upon his face as the blood drained from Kakashi's face at sight of him. "Let him go and step away, or I will let the Monsters do what they will with you in the Realm of Shadows. Each one is begging for you to come visit, especially his guardians, even the normally kind and gentle ones are calling for your soul to visit them." His voice was powerful and commanding, so much so that Kakashi quickly did as he was asked, leaping away from the prone blonde. "Are you ok, Joey? Is the small cut all the damage he did?"

"Yeah, I'm ok, Yug. You can calm down now. I don't think he'll be trying anything else, not while you and Iruka are here. Thanks, bro." Joey assured him.

Yugi nodded, and though he kept up the Shadow Magic around the kunai, he banished everything else, even the Monsters from his mind. His face returned to the child-like innocent look it had had earlier and he smiled wearily down at Joey, before fixing cold amethyst eyes back onto the Jounin. However, before he could say another word, Iruka beat him to it by punching the man in the gut as hard as he could, then kneeing him in the face as he bent upon impact. "What do you think you were doing? They are our allies, or have you already forgotten you were one of the ones to drag them here to find Naruto and Gaara-sama? Hokage-sama would kill you if you did something to hurt the one chance at getting her—as she calls him—little brother back! You do realize that, right? Or are you just that blind?"

Kakashi broke in with, "He questioned my loyalty to those around me."

Joey defended himself with, "Did not."

"What happened, Joey? Please tell us." Yugi's quiet voice was a stark difference to the angry shouting of Iruka.

Joey sighed before explaining the events leading up to the scene the two came in on. "As I said, I didn't question his loyalty to the people around him. I questioned his quality of life and the point behind it. I didn't know he'd go all psycho on an ally."

"You do realize Tsunade-sama is going to have to hear about this, right, Kakashi. She won't be happy that you are already threatening the life of a comrade after knowing them for one day, especially since you were in the wrong and acted so narrow minded." The brown haired man pulled out a whistle and blew into it. Instantly, two armored and masked ninja were standing before them. "Take Kakashi to Hokage-sama and keep him there. Let her know that I will be by shortly after I get someone to help Yugi, Joey, and Serenity do some shopping for a little while." The two were confused but nodded and bowed before each took an arm of the silver haired man and disappeared in a flurry of leaves. "Now to get someone to help you guys…" The man began to go through the different ninja in the village, marking off those that would be a bad idea to assist in the locating of clothes-namely Lee and Gai. "I know someone." He said upon realization. "Now let me go real quick and see if she can. Go wake Serenity up, and I'll be back in a few minutes with my replacement."

At Yugi's nod the man left out the front door. "I'll go wake Serenity, Joey. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, bro. I kept him occupied long enough for you to get down here. I knew the change in energy would wake you." Joey smiled at his worried friend.

"If you're sure…" At Joey's nod the small teen smiled and headed back up stairs. He headed to the girl's room and, once at the door, gently knocked at it. He heard a murmured "Come in" before he opened the door and stepped in. "Hey, Serenity. I was just coming to wake you up because Iruka's going to bring back someone to accompany us clothes shopping."

Serenity slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as the boy sat down on the edge of her bed. "I thought Iruka was going to be doing that. What happened?"

"Well, he kinda has to go tell Tsunade what Kakashi just did to Joey…" Yugi said softly.

"What happened, Yugi? What did he do?" The girl's voice was shaky.

"Nothing serious." He assured her. "But I don't know how true that would have been if I would have been a few seconds later. He got angry at something Joey said to him, and Kakashi attacked him. I got there just in time to keep him from cutting Joey's throat anymore than he already had. I snapped, Serenity. I wanted to send Kakashi's soul to the Shadow Realm, and the monsters were begging me to, even Koro. I wanted him to suffer at their hands, claws, and fangs. Does that make me like the others, Serenity? I so quickly jumped to the idea that Tsunade told him to do it. I feel horrible but at the same time, justified."

Serenity smiled gently at him before wrapping her arms around him. "You are nothing like the others you've met along the way. You are kind, gentle, innocent, and one of the sweetest guys I know. What you did and thought WAS justified. You were worried and trying to protect a friend. The fact that you are worried over those feelings proves just how sweet you really are."

Yugi happily fell into her arms. He felt the same warm feeling he got the last time she held him. He felt cared for and loved, something he had needed lately. After a moment he returned the hug. "Thanks, Serenity. It means a lot to hear you say that." He pulled her closer and buried his face into her shoulder.

They sat there like that for a few minutes before a knock was heard on the door, driving them apart. They looked at each other before quickly looking away, their faces bright red.

"Is everything ok in there, Yugi, Serenity? If you are ready we can head out now." Came Shizune's voice through the door.

"We'll be right out. I was just telling Serenity what happened earlier." Yugi assured as he opened the door.

Serenity was combing her hair before turning to them and smiling at the older woman. "What did happen earlier? All I got was that Iruka got the ANBU to transport Kakashi to Tsunade-sama, and that he was very angry before he asked me to help you guys in his place."

Yugi sighed, but told her the story Joey told him and the scene he came in on. Shizune's eyes widened at the explanation. She sighed and shook her head. "He snapped because Joey was telling him what he tells himself every day. Kakashi really wishes he could have done more for his teams, but he always sees himself as a failure. What he did was wrong, but he reacted because he felt too open, like all that he did wrong and his misgivings were on display. Joey has quite the ability to read people."

"It would seem, then, that Joey is starting to unlock the abilities of his Items. After we can access our chakra, I'll start training you guys in controlling your Shadow Magic. I can work on helping each of you to strengthen your abilities until they are second nature and easy to turn on and off. It took me a while, but I had to also deal with dueling for the world all the time. This way, we'll have more time for just training." Yugi informed them as they walked out of the room and down the stairs.

Once in the living room, Yugi stepped up behind the couch and peered down at Joey. "Time to go, ain't it?" At the smaller teen's nod, the blonde sighed but stood up. The group headed for the door and out to the village.

Once they were out the door, Joey slung his arm over Yugi's shoulder. "Do not feel bad about what happened earlier. That was Kakashi's crap; you were just protecting me and by extension Serenity and yourself from him." Joey told him.

Yugi nodded, blushing slightly. "Am I really that predictable?"

"I've just known you for that long." Joey smiled before wincing at the pain from stretching his neck.

Yugi noticed his action and reached a small hand up to the wound. A golden light gently surrounded his hand, and when he pulled it back the wound was healed up. "Thanks, Yug." Joey laughed before ruffling up the boy's hair.

The trip to the nearest ninja outfitter was relatively uneventful in comparison to the tour. The three entered into the relatively new shop. Once inside they were immediately welcomed by a kind looking young couple. "Shizune-sama, it's great to see you. Are you here about the repair from the other day?" The young woman asked.

"No. It was fine, thank you very much. Actually today I'm here about these three. They need some new outfits for training and missions." The young apprentice stepped aside to allow the couple view of the three new comers.

"We will do all that we can for them. Now, do we put this on the Hokage's tab?" The young man spoke up.

"That'll be fine; she is the one that ordered for them to get new clothes." Shizune told them.

The couple nodded and began to look the three over. "What are you names?" The young man asked.

"I'm Joey and this is Yugi and Serenity. Nice to meet you. What are your names?" Joey answered before the others could.

"I'm Shirojo and this is my wife, Oka. It's nice to meet you, too. Now Joey, Yugi, would the two of you come with me, and, Serenity, could you go with Oka. Then we can get started."

The friends nodded before separating and following their certain designer. Once in their room Joey and Yugi looked around at the many fabrics hanging up. Each and every one looked thick and heavy but durable and easy to move in. "Now then, what colors do you prefer? That'll give us a base to start your new wardrobes." Shirojo stated.

"I like black, blue, and purple." Came Yugi gentle voice. Shirojo nodded while pulling out the three colors.

"I'll go with black, red, and green" Joey drawled out. "Hey, Dark Magician colors for you, Yug, and Red-Eyes for me." The blonde chuckled.

Yugi nodded. "I've always loved those colors. I guess it was the attachment to him."

Joey agreed as the man came over with his color choices. "Alright, now I need to get your measurements. If you would both please strip down to your underwear I'll try to do this as quickly as possible."

Joey just shrugged before striping off his clothes. Yugi, on the other hand, blushed before slowly and shyly pulling off his. The boy was really glad he had decided to leave his jewelry at the house. Shirojo pulled out a tape measure and took the measurements where need on both boys. "You're both well proportioned with good muscle tone. It shouldn't take too long to get these finished up."

He pulled out a few sheets of chain mail. The two, now dressed, watched as the man took the different materials and got to work. Every time he finished an outfit he had whichever it was for try it on, and if any alterations were needed, he quickly took care of it. After around four hours, the two were down to their last set of clothes. They were shocked to watch the man use jutsu to complete each piece of clothing.

Soon the items were finished and both were surprised to have six sets each. "Why don't you go on ahead and put one on so you can get used to the weight and feel of your new clothes?" He suggested.

Both boys nodded and began to change. Yugi walked over to his line of clothes and began to look through it. He pulled out a light blue sleeveless. He was surprised at how heavy the shirt was, but remembered the chain mail. The seams were all reinforced with jutsu-color-changed leather. He quickly slipped it on before moving on to the pants. He grabbed the thick black long pants and pulled them on. The pants hung nicely on his hips and were slightly baggy but weren't dragging the ground. They had been given black sandals when Shizune came to the house, and they had changed into them then. The small teen then went to the jackets and pulled out a black one. Despite the heaviness of the article of clothing, it was fitted, but gave ease of movement. Each article of both of their uniforms had an Eye of Ra.

Joey began to change as well. He pulled out a red sleeveless, smiling at the weight of the shirt and the sturdiness. He slipped it on. The metal caused the shirt to move easily and form perfectly to his chest. He grabbed a pair of black pants and a black jacket. The pants fell just as Yugi's did, but his jacket was shorter. While most of Yugi's jackets fell to his knees, Joey's ended at his hips or the top of his thighs.

Once dressed both boys looked at each other and smiled. "Now we really blend in, Yug. No more getting stared at because we aren't dressed like everybody else."

"Yeah, but I really think it was my jewelry earlier that was making everybody stare."

"Hey, that stuff's your Egyptian heritage. You have every right to parade around in it. I mean, come on, if Marik is allowed to, you should be." Joey put an arm around the smaller teen's shoulder. "Oh, and thanks for all this, Shirojo. This stuff is awesome."

"Thank you. I try my best on all the outfits I make. If you need any repairs, just come see me about them." The young man smiled as they walked back into the main room.

Serenity was already finished when they stepped in the larger showroom. She was wearing a lilac sleeveless with a dark grey vest over it. Her pants were Capri length and the same dark grey. She smiled as she saw the two boys walk out of the back room. She blushed as she looked Yugi over. *He looks incredible!* her mind squealed.

"You look great, Serenity. This style really suits you." Yugi complemented.

This caused the girl to blush even more. "Thank you, Yugi. You look great, too"

The boy smiled as a shade of light pink covered his nose. Joey mentally laughed at the two. "How are we going to get the clothes back to the house?" The boy finally asked to cut the tension between the other two.

"I'll put them into scrolls and then you can come by and pick them up later to take them home. I'm sure you guys have a few other places to visit." Shirojo reassured.

The group nodded and began to head out with another wave to the man and his wife. "We go to them with everything because they have never turned Naruto away, and they do great work." Shizune informed the three as they walked towards another small shop. "The shop owner we are going to see now has a daughter that is close friends with Naruto. She's a weapon master in her own right. The family has been in the weapon making business for generations. You can order any type of weapon you want from them, and if you have a specific design in mind then you can sketch out what you want it to look like, and he can use that as a template. If you guys have any ideas on a weapon you would like to learn, I'm sure TenTen, the daughter, will be happy to teach you. If she doesn't know how to do use it, then I'm sure there will be someone in the village that will."

"Except for Yugi's weapon of choice," Joey commented.

"No, I'm sure someone will. We have a great expanse of weaponry knowledge." Shizune assured.

"I'm sorry, Shizune, but I'm very sure no one here knows how to use my main choice of weapon. It's an Egyptian blade that I was taught the basics of a few months ago." Yugi spoke up. "I know none of you recognized my fighting style stance earlier, and it was an Egyptian style from about 3 thousand years ago."

Shizune's eyes widened. "How were you taught it then?"

"It was passed down in my family. I'm actually a descendent of one of the rulers of ancient Egypt; the 'Unnamed' Pharaoh is what he is called in the texts." Yugi said.

"How do you know you are descended from him then?" Shizune asked.

"Because there is a guardian family that has been watching over his tomb and lineage for thousands of years." Yugi clarified. "And we know what his actual name was, what he liked to be called and his extra title."

"Oh, well that would explain that. And you're right. I don't think anyone here would know that style. Though I'm sure TenTen would love to learn it." Shizune conceded.

The three friends followed Shizune into the small shop and up to the counter. A girl stood there, methodically flipping a kunai into the air before catching it again. "Hello, TenTen. How are you today?"

"Oh, hey, Shizune-sama. Quite bored actually. No one's been around much today, and with my teammates out on missions I don't have much to do." The girl perked up when she saw the small group. "Who is this?" She asked, motioning towards the gang.

"These three are guests Tsunade-sama summoned here to help with the search for Naruto and Gaara-sama."

"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm TenTen, and I'm a member of Team Gai."

"I'm Yugi and this is Joey and Serenity. It's nice to meet you, too."

"We heard you were a weapon mistress." Joey spoke up.

"Oh yeah. Weapons are my favorite form of fighting and my specialty. What can I help you with?" the brunette confirmed.

"They need some of the basic weapons like kunai, senbon, and shuriken, especially practice ones. They are new to basic throwing weapons. I think Yugi may be the only one with proper weapon training." Shizune explained.

"Ok. Well the basic materials are over here." The girl stepped from behind the counter and led them over to a display and began to remove the small weapons. "I'm guessing you'll want to pick a specialty weapon after you get used to the basics?"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could get a sword made. I'll bring by a sketch later, if that's ok?" Yugi spoke up.

"Sure thing, but are you sure you'll have to sketch it out? Is it not a normal katana, or are you wanting a special design?" TenTen asked.

"It's not a katana at all, actually. The only extra design I want on it would be the Eye of Ra." Yugi explained.

"Oh, ok then. I'm sure dad'll love to make if for you. Get the sketch to him as soon as possible so you won't have to wait on your training." The brunette nodded.

They got the rest of the items they would need and went to check out. "Tsunade-sama is paying for what they need. Oh, also, I'll need chakra weights for them."

TenTen nodded and wrote up the tab. "Thanks, guys. I hope to see you around. It'll be fun to get to know you."

Yugi bowed to the girl and with a big smile, nodded his agreement.

"Thanks. See you later." Joey drawled out while Serenity bowed to the girl as well.

They walked out of the shop and back toward the tailor shop. After getting their clothes and being surprised at the fact their clothes really were in actual scrolls, they headed to a nearby Beef-Pot restaurant. Once their meal was finished, Shizune spoke up, "You guys should get a good night's sleep because tomorrow you'll start your training."

The three nodded and headed back to the house they were being allowed to stay in. Shizune helped the three open their scrolls, and they put away their clothing before laying down in their beds and falling asleep.

The next morning, Yugi was the first awake and after dressing headed down stairs to the kitchen to begin making breakfast. The boy was wearing black sleeveless and dark purple pants, each fitting just as the others had.

At the scent of food, Joey woke up and began to change into clothes for the day. He pulled on pale green sleeveless and black pants. After stepping out of his room, he walked over to Serenity's door and knocked. "Yeah?" He heard her sleepy reply.

"Time to wake up. I'm guessing Yugi's making breakfast. We'll have to go to training soon."

"Ok, brother. I'll be out in a minute."

Joey walked away chuckling. Once down stairs, he saw Yugi standing in front of the stove. "Hey. Yug. What are you making?"

"Eggs and pancakes. Is Serenity up?"

"Just woke her before coming down. Did you hear when or where we were supposed to meet up for training?"

"No, but I'm sure they'll come get us this time and tell us where to meet after today. The question is: who are they going to have work with you now? I doubt Kakashi would want to try what he did again because the consequences would be dire. I just don't know if he would be a good choice." Yugi turned to his friend after putting the food on serving plates.

"Who knows? It doesn't matter to me as long as he's not stupid enough to attack me like that. We may just be working together to increase strength first for a while then have do the more severe stuff. When are we going to work on our Shadow Magic?" Joey brought plates to the table so they could each have one.

"I was thinking after we can access our chakra. We can already tap into our Shadows, so it may be able to help you and Serenity to control the magic a bit better." Yugi explained.

"Hey." Serenity's sleepy voice broke through.

The two boys smiled over at the girl as she slowly made her way to the table. She was wearing a 'baby-doll' style light blue shirt and dark blue pants. They sat down together and began breakfast.

Moments after they were done, a knock sounded out from the front door. Yugi stood while the siblings cleaned up. When he opened it, there stood Jiraiya, Neji, Hinata, and another man he didn't recognized. "Are you guys ready to start training?" the tall white haired man asked.

"Yes, sir. Let me get the others. We just finished up with breakfast." Yugi stepped away from the door and walked in two the kitchen. "Guys, our senseis are here and are ready to go."

"Alright. Do we have all our gear?" Serenity asked as she began to walk over to Yugi.

"I need to grab mine real quick. I'll be right back." Joey said before running up the stairs to his room.

The two giggled before heading over to the door and telling the four where Joey was going. They waited for a few seconds, and Joey stumbled up to them looking quite sheepish. "Sorry about that. I'm good now. Let's get going."

Jiraiya chuckled while Neji rolled his eyes. "I absolutely LOVE your enthusiasm! You are truly a model of the Power of YOUTH!" The new man shouted.

All eyes moved toward him and Yugi heard Neji sigh in exasperation. "This is Gai-sensei. He'll be working with Joey more after you guys can access your chakra. Shino and Shikaku— Shikamaru's father—may come by to assist some days." The young Jounin explained.

They slowly nodded before looking to Jiraiya for further instructions. "Alright, let's get going. For today it'll be best to keep all of you together because it'll be the same training for all three of you." There was a round of agreements as they headed toward the training fields.

After a short walk, they made it to a small clearing much like the one the day before. "Ok, I want you three to get into a relaxed stance and try to sense your chakra. It'll be an energy that feels connected to your life and body."

The gang nodded and sat down around the clearing. Joey and Serenity sat under a couple of the trees. Joey sat with his back against it, his head lolled back, and his legs straight out. Serenity curled up under another tree. Both closed their eyes and began to concentrate, and they were led to the source of their chakra through the guidance of one of their guardians. Yugi sat in the shade, his legs curled in front of him. His hands made a gesture as if cupping water in front of his chest, and his large eyes closed. A peaceful look spread across his face.

Those gathered took in how each clamed themselves. *Joey seems to concentrate in a very vulnerable stance. That usually means he's confident in his skills and a bit reckless. Serenity curls up. That could mean she feels comfortable, or she wants comfort. Given her personality so far, she's trying to hide away. Now Yugi sits in the open, is peaceful, and open. He's very trusting, yet his legs are curled up, giving a sense of feeling a need to protect him. The way he's holding his hands is a very giving gesture, but I don't think that's what it is meaning. It's about something that gives him comfort.* Jiraiya observed.

They were surprised when a soft golden light sparked into life on Yugi's forehead. The light formed into an eye, and a smile spread across his lips. Each ninja glanced at each other, and then back at the teens.

In each of the three's minds, they were met by a guardian. Yugi was met by Miroku, the Magician of Black Chaos. Joey saw Anji, the Axe Raider. Serenity came upon Chihiro, the Mystical Elf.

"Come, my king. I shall guide you to this new energy source. Those trainers will help you to learn to control it properly, but we can assist you as well, if you need us." Miroku put a hand on the small teen's shoulder, pulling him close as they walked to the boy's soul room. It looked more like a pyramid's walls, but toys were still scattered all over the floor. There were pictures of his friends and the adventures on the walls. By his bed there was a picture of Atem and him together. Beside that was a picture of the two others that were the closest to him. The mage walked him over to a section of the room with a large seal on the wall. "Concentrate on this spot and touch it with a bit of your Shadow Magic."

"Does this have to be activated by Shadow Magic? I haven't showed Joey or Serenity how to easily summon it." Yugi asked looking up at the monster spirit.

"Do not worry, my king. They will be fine. Their guardians shall help them as well." Miroku assured the boy.

Yugi nodded and reached out to touch the seal, his Shadow Magic active. When he touched the seal a bright gold and blue light shot forth, surrounding the small teen.

Joey stepped forward, looking around the room he was in. He had been there once before—when Ino had used the mind control jutsu on him. The room was bright, except for one of the corners. He instinctively knew that corner held his guilt and regrets. He turned away from it and saw a brighter, larger area. He knew that held all his times with his friends and little sister. He turned again and smiled at seeing Anji standing before him. The duel spirit bowed and said, "Master, I am here to help you unleash your new energy. First, I must show you how to access your Shadow Magic. Your spirit can learn to control your Magic much better than your body, so please let our king teach you to unleash it in the outside world." At Joey's nod the Axe Raider guided him to pull out the seal on one of his walls. As he touched the seal a bright blue light shot forth, surrounding the blonde.

Serenity looked around the room she had entered. There were images of her friends, past and present, family, and all their times together. Beside her bed were a picture of Joey alone and a picture of Yugi alone. She blushed as she noticed a heart on the frame of Yugi's and quickly averted her eyes. On one of the walls, she noticed there were pictures of her hopes and dreams for her future. The girl turned and saw Chihiro standing at another wall with a gentle smile on her face. Serenity waved at the kind elf and walked over to her. The elf bowed before speaking. "Mistress, please come this way and I shall help you release the seal surrounding your new energy. First, I must show you how to summon your Shadow Magic in your spirit form. But please, mistress, only let our king show you how to summon it in the outside world because he can control it much better if something gets out of hand." When the ginger haired girl nodded, the Mystical Elf started the task of showing the young teen to summon the Magic. When she got it, she reached out and touched the seal. A bright blue light shot forward, wrapping itself around her.

In the outside world lights shown around the three young teens. "They've unlocked the barrier. They can use their chakra now." Neji commented.

The light died down and each of the teens stood up. Joey and Serenity wobbled a bit, not used to being in their Soul Rooms for so long nor used to drawing on their Shadow Magic in such a way. Yugi turned to his friends, "Are you guys ok?"

"Yeah, we're good, Yug. Are you?" Joey answered while Serenity nodded.

Yugi smiled, relieved, and nodded to his friends. He turned back to the ninja and said, "We've unlocked it. Now what do we do?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Neji, Hinata, I believe the two of you should keep your eyes on their channels to tell if something is about to go wrong, as well as telling them what they are doing wrong if they are." At their agreeing gesture and Kekkei Genkai activation, the Sanin went on. "You three, I know you can feel the chakra coursing through you. Do this hand sign and concentrate on pulling it up and have it hovering around your body. If you begin to feel weak, undo the hand sign and break off contact with the chakra, otherwise, continue holding it in a constant rate until I tell you to stop. Hinata and Neji will watch and correct you, helping you to keep the flow proper. When you feel some disperse, replace it slowly with increasingly smaller amounts until you no longer can decrease the amount needed. Afterward, we're going to do a different set of chakra control exercises. Now start."

The three did as they were told and tapped into their new energy, forcing it to wrap around themselves. Yugi had mild problems, but Neji assured him it was because of his massive amounts. Joey's impatience was his problem, but Hinata helped him. Serenity kept her's together fairly well, but she seemed to burn through it quickly, and she couldn't seem to keep a steady stream. She would over compensate, or under-compensate at random times, keeping the outside amount steady, but tiring herself out quickly. She was the first to sit out, and Hinata stepped over to her to check on her and talk her through her mistakes. Joey was the next to begin to feel weak, but his stubbornness wouldn't let him go down. Neji made a comment about him getting low on chakra, so Jiraiya told him to stop and take a break. The blonde did, but he wasn't overly happy about it. Yugi stayed standing for a long while after; listening to any corrections Neji had for him and easily implemented them. After another hour passed, Jiraiya finally told him to stop.

"How were you able to keep going for that long?" Gai asked.

Yugi shrugged. "I wasn't running out of the energy." He swayed slightly, and Joey was at his side instantly so the teen could lean against him. He smiled up at his friend in both thanks and reassurance.

Neji spoke up. "I noticed that. I believe, since you've so deeply tapped into and have strengthened your Shadow Magic to such a level that it's supplementing your chakra."

Yugi nodded. "That makes sense. Especially since the Realm and monsters don't want anything to happen to me. I'm sure they were supplementing somehow to keep me from weakening."

"Let's break for lunch and then come back here for the next stage." Jiraiya suggested, and got agreement.

Joey hoisted the smaller teen up into his arms, which gave a bit of disagreement, but was too tired to really fight back. Serenity stood beside them. "Let him carry you, Yugi. You've used more energy to protect and help us both yesterday and today than either of us. How much sleep did you get last night?" The girl spoke up.

"I got some, but there is this feeling in this village of darkness. It's keeping me a bit on edge, especially with what went on yesterday with Kakashi. I kept waking up." Yugi admitted.

"Can you explain where this feeling is coming from?" Jiraiya's voice and face were serious.

"Well, there was the Uchiha residence, around the Hokage tower, and on the outside wall in the north." Yugi answered honestly.

"You guys go and get some lunch. Gai and I need to talk to Tsunade." The white haired man told them before both he and the green clad ninja disappeared.

"Let's go. I'll lead us to our clan house. Hiashi-sama wanted us to have you come for a meal today." Neji told them before stepping ahead and motioning them to follow.

The small group headed toward the large elegant clan house.

Meanwhile, the two ninja landed in front of their leader's door. Jiraiya knocked and was beaconed in. they stepped in and stood, waiting for Tsunade to be done with the small meeting with Danzou and two of his flunkies. Just the few moments they were in the room, the two knew the war hawk was trying to get Tsunade to stop the search for Naruto, or if he was found, for him to be killed on sight. It was obvious to the man he had defected in some way, or he would have returned on his own. She of course told him that neither was an option, and if he didn't want to have his rank stripped, he had better leave. They did so.

Once the three were gone, Jiraiya spoke up. "Well, I guess that explains the evil feeling the kid's getting from around here. He feels Danzou's dark ideas."

"What do you mean?" was the question that came from the weary woman.

Both ninja told her what Yugi had said.

"I'll send some Anbu to check out the wall problem. It's most likely Orochimaru, or Sasuke. As for the other two areas, I'm afraid there's not much I can do. The clan house won't clear until peace between the brothers and this village is made. The council will always have evil tendencies simply because they have power and Danzou as their leader. When they die, that'll stop. But, at least he knows where to have his guard up the most. I wonder if it's part of his powers. Just keep an eye on them. The council doesn't know about them, but it's only a matter of time."

Gai and Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "They have already unlocked their chakra and have begun learning to control it. Yugi has a huge capacity, but his Shadow Magic tends to regenerate the chakra as he uses it, making him not feel fatigue until he no longer needs it. He nearly collapsed earlier from overuse. Joey has patience problems, but that's not surprising. Serenity has confidence problems—again, not surprising." Jiraiya explained.

Tsunade nodded in understanding. "So, some control and self-esteem is all that is needed. Yugi's regenerative ability could come in handy, as long as his adrenalin levels stay up. Start on control exercises and talk to Yugi and Joey about Serenity's confidence problem. They know her best, so they could have an idea to help her. Once they have control, begin with jutsu training. Go ahead and start taijutsu training with them too. After today, it should be; chakra training and jutsu in the mornings, lunch as a rest, taijutsu training in the afternoons, Iruka's class in the evening, and free nights. At night they can work on their Shadow Magic once Yugi thinks they're ready. I certainly wouldn't know how to gage that."

The two men nodded to their leader. They, then, went on to assess what they should teach the three after they have learned control. They were going to have to find out the team's chakra types before deciding on specific jutsus, but they were going to start off with the same basics. As the hour drew to a close, they finalized the schedule for the first two weeks of training. They understood that it may be changed up some, depending on how quickly they moved through their lessons. They left out to meet up with the students once again. Tsunade set out five Anbu to check on a report of suspicious chakra levels and movement outside the north wall.

To be continued...Hopefully soon!

A/N: Like I said, I hope you enjoyed what I've writen. I'm not sure if you remember the question on the last chapter, but you guys can still tell me if you want Yami to come back and have a small role. From what I've heard so far, I think I already know how I'm going to play it when it comes to him, but feel free to give me your opinion. I also want to know what kind of weapons you think Joey and Serenity should learn. I've already given Yugi an Egyptian sword, and I'm thinking the Bo (staff) for reach (and the fact that I've been trained on how to use one...). Others that I have had instruction in and would would be better at describing learning are the Nunchaku and Tonfas. Please give me suggesstions on other weapons and who, out of Joey and Serenity, should get what. It would be of great help because I would love for each of them to have 2 speciality weapons. Thanks, guys!


	8. Ch 8 Training Continues

A/N: I really want to thank all of you for reading this, favorite-ing, putting it on story-alert, putting me on author-alert and for all of you reviews. You guys are awesome! Again, I was hoping to get this out much sooner than I am, but I had some touch-and-go on a couple of classes (a cumulative final with 10 professors, 2000+ notes on 200+ drugs…these people are insane!). I already have chapter 9 started, so I'm hoping it won't take as long.

Also, someone (I can't find the email, I'm sorry) asked me about the coupling of Yugi and Serenity. It's one of my favorite couples in the series (non-cannon I know, but still), as I think it's cute and works. You don't have to worry about one thing and that's the Yugi/Pegsy pairing…Sorry, I'm not really for that either, even if I like them both (just not together! ^_^). There will be a little bit of Yugi/Serenity in this one, but it won't be a huge part of the story line (as I suck at romance stories no matter how much I like to read them).

Anyway, on with the story:

Chapter 8: Training Continues…

When the two men arrived, the group of teens was laughing over something Joey had said. As the two walked up, they could hear what the blonde was saying. "Seriously, Mai batted her eyes, and Kemo couldn't even think straight. Our friends ran right past him. He was trying so hard not to look down. And when he tried to follow us in, she cracked him in the face with her duffle bag of a knapsack. He just kinda stumbled, and blinked a few times." Laughter sounded once again. "There was this other guy named Panic that was an eliminator. That dude was messed up in the head. He hunted duelists for a living and destroyed their will to play with psychology or physical attacks, and he did it for fun. He beat Mai down, broke her spirit, but Yug put him in his place…" Joey finally noticed the two adults and trailed off.

"It's fine. You still have a couple of minutes. Keep going with the story." Jiraiya spoke up.

Joey nodded before continuing. "The dude used nothing but defenses, whether it was actual defense mode with magic supplements or the darkness that hid all his monsters. Yugi freaked him the heck out though. Yugi just stood there, looking so cool and calm; he was unnerving as he just smiled and dodged the shots of fire Panic used. Every time he told Panic something, Mai came up with a way to say that Yugi was screwing up because he was nervous and scared. Thing was, Yugi was actually being open with the guy because he knew that was different for the man. He even cut the man's advances through psychology. Worried the heck out of us, though. Especially when Yug told him his entire strategy and Mai started to tell us that was Yugi snapping under the pressure. But he pulled it out in the end thanks to Gaia the Dragon Champion, Catapult Turtle, and Swords of Revealing Light. Panic stood there with an eye twitching as his Castle of Dark Illusion fell, crushing his monsters. Then the guy snapped and pressed—more like crushed—the button for the fire and made a fire ball out of the entire stadium. Yug just stood there like it was a breeze or something. We couldn't see what was going on because of the flames, but the second it died down we saw Panic fall off his platform. He ended up passing out, and he would twitch every few seconds."

The group laughed and once they quieted down Gai spoke up. "How were you able to withstand the flames if you've never had any ninja training? There are some Jounin that cannot withstand certain levels of fire."

"Actually, my Millennium Item protected me. It had the Shadow Magic wrap around me and covered me up. I was able to stay calm much the same way. That, and the fact that as the smallest, shyest, and strangest looking boy in school all my life, I've had to deal with bullies since I was in elementary school. I was the easy target before I became friends with Joey and Tristan because I didn't see a point in standing up for myself." Yugi explained.

"And yet you stood up for a couple of losers like Tristan and me." Joey shook his head while Yugi just shrugged, and Serenity giggled.

"Alright. Let's get started again. This exercise will help you to learn to maintain a gentle level of chakra release. You will be climbing the tree without your hands. Each of you will use a kunai to mark your advancements as you go along. Try to get farther along each time. Now, to do this, instead of drawing your chakra around your body, you have to concentrate it to the soles of your feet. Once you've done that, run up the tree as far as you can. We'll try to stand close enough to be able to catch you if you slip. It should look like this." The white haired man turned from explaining to facing a tree, before casually walking up the large trunk.

The three looked on in wonder. Joey was the first to act. He just shrugged and began to run at another tree, moving up it eight steps before sliding down and yelping as he landed on his back. Yugi watched Jiraiya closely, his mind analyzing the man's movement. *He's taking it calmly and not rushing things. He keeps his heart rate calm, allowing his chakra to be controlled easier. He keeps the flow steady by molding the chakra to the actual bark. I can feel some of it being left behind on the tree, but it's still connected to him and returns after a few moments.*

Jiraiya noticed the boy watching him and the intense look in his eyes unnerved him some—though he was able to hide it well. He seemed to look all the way through him to his soul. He got a mental picture of the young man standing tall on a golden balcony, wearing royal fineries of a tunic, blood red cloak, and a golden crown. There were differences between the actual boy and this image—one being skin tone and another being their eyes—but he knew they were connected. The moment the boy nodded to himself and turned to another tree and began to concentrate Jiraiya lost the vision, but it still creeped him out to a certain extent.

Serenity watched her brother and Yugi once he started. Joey was still having problems, but Yugi seemed to understand it. She sighed before trying to concentrate and center her chakra. Once she did she began to walk toward the tree. She took about ten steps up before her confidence began to wane. She began to fall and panicked which shot out her chakra causing her to be pushed off the tree even more. She cried out and waited for the painful landing. It never came; instead, she felt thin but strong arms around her. She slowly opened her eyes to see Yugi holding her against his chest, a worried look in his eyes. "Are you ok, Serenity?"

"Yeah. Thank you. I guess I'm just not good enough to do this." She smiled weakly.

"Hey, don't say that. You're doing fine. You got up higher on your first try then Joey did. The only reason I'm getting as far as I am is because I analyzed what Jiraiya-sensei was doing. From that I generated a strategy. I'm treating this like a game against myself. Now come on, let me help you get started." At her nod, he helped the ginger haired girl to stand. "Ok. Close your eyes and even out your breathing. Try to calm your heart rate and concentrate on keeping the flow of chakra steady."

The girl's eyes were closed, and she evened out her breathing. To calm herself, she concentrated on Yugi's hands laying gently on her shoulders and his voice softly brushing past her ear. She followed every word the teen said. "Don't think about anything else, just controlling your chakra. Clear your mind otherwise. Get a running start after you feel ready enough and open your eyes. I'll be right here, in case you fall. I don't want anything to happen to you. I know you can do this, so go for it."

The girl nodded and after a few moments, pulled away from the small teen and ran for the tree. She continued to run until getting past the branches became a problem. She tripped over a stub of a branch and, even though she tried to catch herself, she still fell, a yelp escaping her.

They all noticed it instantly, and both Yugi and Joey burst into action. Yugi ran up the tree while Joey called out the Red Eyes Black Dragon to help them. Yugi caught the girl, but was knocked off the trunk as well. Hatori caught the boy and girl before slowly descending to the ground. Serenity latched on to Yugi's shirt, burying her face into his collar bone, and cried out of fear. The teen held the younger girl securely and began to whisper gently calming words. Joey stepped forward after thanking and sending Hatori back. He gently rubbed his little sister's shoulders. "You did great, Serenity. That was incredible. You should rest now. I think you've got it down. You can practice again tomorrow." Yugi spoke quietly to her while Joey looked over at their senseis for instructions.

"Let's call it for today. In the morning, meet back up here at 8:00. You'll be working on control again and after lunch you'll work on strength and fighting. That is when we will break up into different groups. We'll tell Iruka to meet with you at your house. Go get some rest." Jiraiya told them. "You all did well today. Especially you, Serenity. Just work on noticing your surroundings and you'll have it perfect."

Serenity barely nodded and the two boys smiled at them and waved a good bye. The girl was shaking still and her legs were trying to go out. Her energy was spent, and her mind kept bringing up what COULD have happened. She felt Yugi pull her closer before scooping her up into his arms. She curled against him, holding onto him. She began to calm down and was just enjoying being in his arms.

Yugi blushed as the girl got comfortable in his arms and felt the sigh of contentment on his neck. He heard Joey chuckle and looked over to the taller teen. The blonde just smiled and shook his head. They walked on and soon the girl had fallen asleep with her head tucked against the older teen's neck, her breath tickling it with every exhalation from her lungs.

When they reached the house, Joey went straight to the kitchen while Yugi took Serenity to her bedroom. He opened her door and stepped over to her bed. He laid her down, but she wouldn't let go of his shirt. He tried a few more times before stopping because she wasn't letting go and had started to whimper. He sighed before picking her up enough to slip both their sandals off, and then lay back with her. The second they were both laying against the bed, Serenity curled against Yugi, her head resting on his shoulder. He sighed, but gave a small smile before wrapping his arm around her waist. Yugi felt the girl release his shirt with the arm pinned between them and wrap it around his back and chest, pulling him closer. He blushed, but relaxed against her.

The warm feeling returned, and he smiled more fully. Yugi knew he had had a crush on the girl for a while, ever since she had helped him through Atem's departure and Tea's cold actions afterward. Joey had been with him through it too, but he felt drawn to the younger teen. He yawned and pulled Serenity closer, curling slightly against her before joining her in sleep.

Joey pulled out some water bottles and a sandwich before heading to the living room. When he finished, he noticed just how quiet it was. "Bet Ren wouldn't let Yug leave." The blonde snickered at the thought.

He headed up to the girl's room to check on them. He was mildly surprised at the position the two were in, but then just shrugged. If anything happened between them, he would be happy. His sister would be safe and with the one person Joey felt would be perfect for her. Joey had a feeling they were to be together, like Ishizu had said it was told by the Necklace. He also believed that was why Tristan backed off. Duke was in America and seeing Vivian—thanks to Mai. The blonde smiled and stepped back out of the door, heading down stairs.

A couple of hours later, a knocked sounded at the front door, and Joey got up to answer it. When the blonde opened the door, Iruka and Shizune were both standing there. He moved to let them come in after greeting them.

"Where are your sister and Yugi?" Iruka asked.

"Upstairs. Serenity was shaken up pretty badly because of an accident that happened earlier during training, and she won't let Yugi get away." Joey answered as they headed upstairs to the girl's room.

The blonde quietly opened the door, and the two adults smiled at the scene. They backed up and headed back down stairs while Joey went over to wake them up. "Come on, guys. Iruka-sensei and Shizune are down stairs for our history lesson."

Yugi slowly woke up, his eyes fluttering open. He felt a weight on his chest and looked down to see Serenity's head tucked neatly against his chest and her arms wrapped around him. He smiled gently down at her and untangled his arm from around her waist so he could run his fingers through her hair.

At seeing Yugi's eyes begin to slowly shut again, Joey cleared his throat. The small teen's eyes shot open, and his arms subconsciously tightened around the girl lying beside him. The blonde put his hands out in front of him in an 'I'm not here to hurt you' fashion. Yugi sighed in relief at seeing the boy. "Whoa, Yug. Iruka and Shizune are here, and I was just waking you up. So, I'm guessing Ren wouldn't let go."

A blush lit the small duelist's face as he nodded his head. He knew just how their position looked. Joey chuckled quietly. "It's ok, Yugi. You should know, out of all our friends, I trust you the most. That includes with my little sister. She really likes you. I guess what I'm saying is that if you want to go out with Serenity, you got my blessing. Don't feel obligated to feel that way, but with how you were acting before you realized I was here and earlier at the field, I don't have to worry about pushing you against your will."

Yugi sighed before nodding to his friend. "It may be best to worry about that after we get through this. I do have some feelings toward her, and I don't want to lose her. I just don't want to complicate things with confusing emotions. We are in a land filled with hostility, and we are the strangers. Something like that could be used against us."

Joey agreed as Yugi started to wake the younger teen. Moments later, the girl tensed her muscles, her arms constricting around his abdomen and groaned as she woke. Yugi smiled down at her. Joey motioned to the boy that he was heading on down stairs, and did so when he knew the smaller one had acknowledged what he was saying. When he walked out of the room, Yugi returned his attention to the girl in his arms. She slowly looked up at him and blushed at the gentle look on his face and in his eyes. "Hey, do you feel better?"

She nodded shyly. "I'm sorry I trapped you here. I tend to do that after a traumatizing incident." Her voice was quiet.

"It's fine. I understand. I got the best rest with that nap than I've gotten in the last few days. I was worried about you. I'm just glad you're ok." His fingers gently stroked her cheek and combed through her hair.

She nuzzled into his hand before raising herself up. The blush on her face intensified as she felt the confused gaze coming from the King of Games. "Thank you for caring so much, for everything you've done for Joey and me." Serenity leaned down and lightly pressed her lips against his after closing her eyes.

Yugi was surprised to say the least, but returned the sentiment. When they pulled away, both were blushing. After a few moments of staring into each other's eyes, Yugi quietly spoke up. "Let's talk later, ok? Joey told me Iruka and Shizune are here. I don't want Joey crashing in here thinking we fell back to sleep."

Serenity smiled and nodded at him. She had acted without thinking, and she was glad to know that he was willing to talk things through and that things wouldn't be strange between them. She stood from the bed letting him get up as well. He smiled at her and hugged her. "You're welcome for everything. I would do anything for you guys. Joey was the first true friend I ever had, and I really care about you, too. Thank you for being there for me these last few months, and being someone I could count on through all that's happened."

She smiled and blushed at his contact and statement. They walked out of the room and down the stairs to the living room. Both sat down beside Joey, and the blond slung his arm over Serenity's shoulder, pulling her close. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm great now, brother."

Iruka cleared his throat, smiling, before speaking up. "How did training go this morning?"

"Fairly well. There were a couple of miner problems, but it wasn't anything too bad that we couldn't handle." Yugi spoke up.

The scared ninja gave a gesture of understanding. "Are you guys ready to begin your village lessons?"

The three nodded, though Joey was a little more hesitant. Iruka started the lesson by telling how the village was founded and the basics of ninja life: missions, chakra, and the three basic jutsu styles. He explained how the village and countries were set up and the differences between each of the villages. He also went over who were allied with them and who were not. The four hours were filled with stories of the past, something that Yugi absolutely loved. Joey kept himself awake by imaging the battles they were told about—though usually the characters took on the images of his friends, those they met on their adventures, the enemies they faced, and even their monsters. Serenity listened intently in case there was something said that they would need to know later. When he finished, Yugi asked a few questions, one being if any of the founders still had any family in the village. "Not many. Tsunade-sama is the granddaughter of the Senju family who was the first and second Hokages. It was said there was a third family: the Namikaze, but it was never made official. You already know what happened to the other official founding family: the Uchihas. The next family to have the most pull and to enter the village was the Hyuuga clan. The other clans came in steadily afterward. The Haruno is the newest clan and have been here for around eighteen years."

Joey piped up afterward. "You were talking about some extremely basic jutsus that the students learn. What are they?"

"You'll have to wait for me to see when Tsunade-sama wants you to learn them, or rather have me teach you them, but they are the clone jutsu, the transformation jutsu, and the substitution jutsu. They are very useful for protection and confusion, even for trickery and spy work." Iruka explained. "Is there anything else?"

After getting a negative response, the young man nodded and stood to stretch.

"I'm here to check you guys out and make sure you haven't injured yourselves with what's gone on today." Shizune motioned for each to follow her to the dining area so they could lay down on the table one at a time. Each was checked out and any muscle tears were healed in a way of normal muscle growth.

Once she was done, Yugi spoke up, "I was going to cook dinner for everyone, if you want to stay to eat."

"Actually, we already had plans for tonight, but we'll take you up on that tomorrow night. How does that sound?" Iruka declined.

Yugi nodded and before heading into the kitchen said, "That's fine. I hope you guys have fun."

"I'll be the one cooking tomorrow night." Joey announced.

The two adults nodded and waved before leaving. "I'm going for a nap. Can you call me when dinner's ready, Serenity?"

"Of course, big brother."

The blonde turned and went up stairs to sleep for a while. Serenity walked into the kitchen. "Joey went up for a nap. He wants me to wake him when everything is done. "

"Ok." Yugi acknowledged. "Do you want to help me?"

"Sure, what are you making?"

"Zucchini and squash stir-fry as the side. Chicken and rice with cream of mushroom and chicken bake."

"I'll take care of the stir-fry."

The young duelist nodded and smiled at the girl.

She got all the items and placed them out beside where Yugi was preparing his part. "This is one thing I missed so much when I was going blind. I loved to cook, but with everything getting dimmer, I would hurt myself each time I tried. I guess that's another thing I should thank you for."

"I told you, Serenity, you don't have to. I care about you a lot. I'm just glad I was able to help you and Joey through that."

"I know. It's funny. When I was first introduced to all of you guys, Tristan was the main one I had contact with. I liked him, was starting to get a crush on him, and then I heard you and Joey dueling with such high stakes. I couldn't believe you were willing to give up your life for him. Hearing the tears and love in your voice for my brother, how you were so happy that your best friend had woken up, I felt drawn to you. Joey had talked so much about you to mom and me. I couldn't get enough of how brave and kind you were. I asked Mai about you, and she had just as high of an opinion of you. Your compassion for Marik and kindness to Ishizu meant a lot. I took everything around you at face value because to me it made things that much more interesting. It gave you so much more depth than anyone I ever met, and made you all the more special. Then Tea took me around Domino, just before I was to leave for home. She told me about each one of your duels and everything you did for people. I, also, enjoyed the times we got to talk over Mai's bedside or when Joey was in with her. I like how shy and sweet you are, and how you didn't fight over my attention like Duke and Tristan would do. I guess what I'm trying to say is that since Battle City, I've had a crush on you and all this time spent with you these last few months has just increased my feelings for you."'

"I didn't know you felt that strongly, Serenity. I've had a crush on you since you started helping me with Atem's leaving. I had always felt a pull toward you and enjoyed getting to know you over all this time, including our time on the blimp. Joey told me a lot about you, too, and I'm starting to think he was part of us feeling drawn to one another. I do want to try a relationship with you, if you want to. Maybe after all this calms down, and in the mean time we can talk about all the things we want to do together when we are home or feel safe here. I don't want anything to be able to be used against us. Our friendship is already a target." Yugi confessed.

The girl nodded happily. "I'm just glad you feel mostly the same way. I understand why you want to wait, especially with what happened yesterday and with what you're sensing."

The two were quiet for a while as they finished up their parts of the meal. Once they were both done with either their prep or cooking, they went to the dining room. Yugi's bake still had a few minutes. They set up the table before sitting down on the couch. Yugi put his arm around the girl's shoulder, and Serenity curled against him, her head resting on his shoulder. They just sat in that one spot until the timer went off. Yugi checked the meal before telling Serenity she should go get Joey because it was done. While she went to do that, he set everything out on the table.

Serenity walked up the stairs to her brother's room. She knocked on the door before opening it and stepping in. The boy was sprawled across his bed at an odd angle, causing her to giggle at the sight as she walked over to his side to shake him awake. It took a few seconds, but he finally began to stir. He blinked a few times before he could see properly. "What's up, Serenity?"

"Dinner is ready. And I want to tell you something." At his nod to go on, she explained what had happened after they woke up from their own nap and the few moments before in the kitchen.

When she had finished, Joey smiled. "That's great, Serenity. I actually talked to him earlier about it. I told him I was good with the two of you getting together." He hugged the girl, who was beaming, before they started to walk down to the dining room, where Yugi had just gotten finished placing the food on the table.

They sat down and Joey made a comment to the small teen before laughing at the blush that sprang onto his face. Afterward, they talked about what they had learned that day and what the future could hold. When they were done, Joey opted to wash everything while the other two went to clean up. Once all were finished with freshening up, they headed to bed, Serenity getting a kiss on the cheek from both boys.

The next morning, Joey got up first and went down to make breakfast. Serenity got up soon after, and changed, she stepped out of her room. She saw her brother's door open, and Yugi's closed, so she headed over to the tri-color haired boy's room. After knocking and getting a 'come in,' she opened it and stepped in. He was sitting on his bed, reading a scroll when she saw him. He smiled as she walked in and over to his bed. "Is it already time to wake up? I was going to make breakfast."

"Joey's already taking care of that. I could hear him downstairs. What are you reading?"

"It's one of the owner's of the house diary. She was living here about sixteen years ago; at least that's when this was written. This is a chronicle of time spent with her husband, the clan head, and she just wrote about telling him she was pregnant. This clan was friends with different animal spirits, supposedly. Her husband was close to and had a pet fox spirit. I wish I could meet someone from this clan, but they said that all of them died, or at least were declared dead."

"I remember Iruka telling us that when we arrived. According to this, either she died just before she could have the baby, or just after. I wonder if the baby was one declared dead, or if it didn't make it from the disaster." Serenity began to read over his shoulder.

He shrugged before wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her against his side. She rested her head onto his shoulder, while reaching around to interlock her fingers with his. They read a little farther into the journal. It went on to tell how her husband's team and sensei reacted to her pregnancy. Serenity giggled at their reactions. His sensei was apparently a pervert, so they laughed at how the woman shut down his comments. The girl of the team instantly offered to help them medically, and the boy swore as an Anbu that he would take care of the child and even teach it one day to the best of his skill.

"They all seemed to really look forward to this baby's birth. I wonder if any are still alive today and maybe took the child in. They seemed to already love it." Serenity spoke up.

"The father's reaction was one I could see Joey giving if Mai told him she was pregnant." Yugi agreed.

Serenity read over what was written. "Yeah, I could see Joey fainting when she told him that and then bouncing around screaming afterward. Though, once he settled down, I know he'd start worrying about what kind of father he'd be thanks to ours."

"I know Joey'd be a good dad. He's always taken care of those younger than him. Even when he was picking on me, he didn't hurt me physically. He was just trying to make me tougher." Yugi put the scroll down and leaned back against his wall, pulling her with him.

"He's always looked after me, too. Granted I think you would be a great father. I'm not too sure how good of a mother I would be. I haven't had an overly great example. I know I wouldn't leave one of my children with the abusive drunkard that was their father."

Yugi's arm tightened around her. "I won't let you be in that situation in the first place. Even if we aren't together like that, you won't have to worry about that. You'll always be someone I care deeply for, and I'll take care of you no matter what."

She smiled slightly up at him before cuddling against his side. "We should probably head down. Joey'll be done with cooking soon." Serenity sighed.

He nodded, though he didn't seem to be getting up. After a few more minutes, he chuckled. "You can go on ahead, Serenity. I'm going to change and be right down."

She nodded and got up before walking out of his door and to the kitchen. Joey turned as she stepped into the small room. "Hey, Ren. Sleep well last night?"

"Yeah. Surprisingly no nightmares like I usually get."

"Maybe it's because of what happened after. You and Yugi making plans to get together may have overcome the trauma." Joey suggested as he carried the plates of food to the dining table.

"You're probably right, brother. Yugi was awake when I went to wake him. He should be down in a few seconds."

Joey nodded and finished getting everything to the table, succeeding to do so just as Yugi walked into the room. "Hey, Yug. Sleep better last night?"

"More or less. I guess it's just going to take me getting used to the dark feeling of this place. Anyway, aren't we supposed to meet our trainers at 8?"

Serenity nodded as they all sat down at the table and started eating. About half an hour later they were finished, and Yugi gathered up all the dishes to clean them up, while the other two got their supplies for the day's training.

The three walked on to the training field, arriving a bit early. They sat down to wait, and while doing so, they began to stretch to decrease the likeliness of tearing a muscle. After a few minutes, Yugi and Joey started practicing the tree climbing exercise. Serenity watched for a short while before gathering her courage and started to do it herself. She didn't walk as high as the day before, but high enough to reach one of the mid-way-up branches. She walked out onto it and sat down.

It was at that moment, she realized she didn't know how to get down. She turned her attention to the two boys and watched them walk down without any problem. *Of course neither of them would be slightly afraid of heights…Stupid Kaiba Craft 3 and all the badly timed gusts of wind, and stupid Tristan and Duke telling us about nearly falling off the blimp…*

The girl was stuck, and she didn't know what to do. She was too scared to walk down and too embarrassed to ask for help. She sighed and began to try and think of a way to get down as soon as possible.

After a few seconds, Yugi noticed that Serenity wasn't anywhere in sight. He looked around and saw her in the tree. He waved up at her and got a nervous smile in response. He cocked his head to the side in a questioning manner, but she just shook her head slowly. He was about to question her aloud when he felt Joey's hand on his shoulder. "Taking a rest, Yugi?"

"No. I was looking for Serenity and finally found her in the tree. She got up, but she won't walk back down. Is she afraid of heights?"

"I'm not sure. She's never said anything about it. Hey, Ren, you ok?" Joey called out.

"I'm good." She assured, but her voice betrayed her.

Both boys looked at each other before smiling. "It's ok, Serenity. Walk down just like you walked up. Don't take your eyes off us, ok? You'll be fine." Yugi said soothingly.

Serenity sighed but got up and started to do so. After a few minutes she was down and blushing from embarrassment. "You ok now, Serenity?" Joey asked once her feet were solidly on the ground.

"Yeah. I just froze when I looked down." She confessed.

"When did you become afraid of heights?" Yugi inquired.

"I guess it was when we were on the blimp. With the freakish winds, the Shadow Games, Tristan and Duke nearly falling off, the fact that Kaiba wouldn't land for anything, and then the lightening storm thanks to the fake Ra card. I guess it all just compounded. I'm sorry if I worried you." The red-head explained.

"It's fine. We're just glad you're ok. Why didn't you tell us earlier? We would have done something to help you. I'm sure the falling yesterday didn't help any." Joey brought up.

"No, it didn't, but I was embarrassed about it. It's so silly that I just randomly become afraid of something and nothing even happened to me directly." Serenity admitted.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it. To a certain extent, I'm afraid of large bodies of water thanks to Marik's idea of dueling with a chance of drowning. The idea of being chained up also scares me because of what happened to Mia and me during those duels with Malik." Yugi told her.

"Giant snakes and large amounts of fire get to me. " Joey continued. "The snakes thanks to the Leviathan and fire is because of Ra in my duel with Malik and the burning factory that you were trapped in, Yugi, with Bandit Keith."

She smiled at the two, thanking them silently. "You three have had quite the adventures." came the voice of Gai from behind them.

The three turned to see the four ninja standing there. "Each one of those things is something you're going to have to conquer. First off, what about these causes you to fear them?" Jiraiya spoke up.

Each just shrugged, but Yugi spoke up first. "With the water, I was nearly unconscious when the anchor dropped and dragged me under. I could feel my lungs filling with water because I never got the chance to take a breath before being drug in. Then Joey unlocked me, but didn't get his own key, and I was scared I was going to lose him. With being chained, I guess it's the knowledge of Mai being sealed and tortured within the Shadow Realm. Then of course there was when Yami and Malik were dueling and Marik and I were the ones being tortured. The pain was excruciating as Yami lost life points and the Shadows slowly ripped away at my muscles, nerves, skin, and bones. It even lasted long after the duel was over because it was my spirit being ripped at."

The ninja's eyes widened. "People can actually do such things?" Gai whispered.

"In all honesty, I can, and Joey and Serenity will eventually. I don't really like performing Shadow Games because it usually ends with bad consequences for the loser. They can end up dead, insane, or with their soul wandering the Shadow Realm, waiting for it to be slowly devoured by the shadows and wandering spirits."

Gai cringed while the color drained from Hinata's face, leaving her whiter than normal. "Yeah, feeling the full attack power of the Egyptian God Card, Ra, in a Shadow Game after I'd already had most of my life energy painfully drained away with the death of every monster I put out is part of my unease with fire. Ra is a giant flaming bird, and I mean giant. I barely came out of that duel with my soul or life intact. When Yug was trapped in that burning building and wouldn't let go of that puzzle, it scared me half to death because of the idea of Yugi burning to death. The Leviathan was bigger than Ra and ate my, Yugi, Kaiba, and Mai's souls along with all the other souls that it had eaten over the few thousand years that thing had had Dartz collecting for him; all in the name of rewriting the world."

"What is it with people and giant snakes that they just have to destroy then rule the world…" Jiraiya mumbled irritably.

"I've already mentioned the reasons for my fear, and I'd rather not go through them again because I still think they are silly." Serenity blushed.

"Let's get to work on what we can do because there isn't much we can do about those types of fears. They have such deep ties that you're going to work your way through the chains that they are binding you with. For the first two hours I want you working on chakra control. Afterward, I will have you find out your charka element. Once we know that, we will break you three up and have you work on controlling your elements. After lunch, we will go back to our three groups, and you will be taught taijutsu basics. You may even try to combine it with what you already know, but only after you have mastered the basics we teach you. Now start with tree walking—slowly increasing your height with each lap, Serenity. After that we'll do water walking. Now get started." Jiraiya ordered out.

For the next thirty minutes, they went through the tree exercise; Serenity slowly being able to get over her fear of heights when it came to having to perform the action. After that, Jiraiya led them to a stream and explained the water walking exercise. Again, Joey ran straight in and making it a few steps before his foot sank, causing him to over compensate and sending himself off balance, splashing into the water.

Yugi studied what Jiraiya had done, as well as Joey's failure. He walked over to a calmer part of the stream and began to try himself. He made it about one and a half the distance that Joey did before flashes of sinking in the bay of Domino hit him. He began to sink before over-correcting. He shot himself backward and landed near the bank, splashing water all over himself. He sighed heavily, shaking the pictures away. He stood and went out again. The same happened as the first. It was the same for the following three tries, causing him to become completely soaked. Jiraiya walked over to see how he was doing. Joey and Serenity had already progressed half way across the stream. He was surprised to see Yugi had barely gotten off the bank.

*Maybe he's having problems due to his amount of chakra.* The Sanin stood and watched.

Yugi stood again, looking quite frustrated before going at it once again. He got farther along, but again he froze and began to sink before try to compensate. Jiraiya instantly noticed what was going on. He could see the panic in the boy's eyes before he started to sink. The boy stood and growled, but he almost instantly lost his fire.

"Why does that scene keep coming to mind?" The boy's voice was rough with irritation, self-loathing, and depression. "I can't let that bother me now. The others are counting on me. Though, maybe my not getting over things or being inadequate at all but games is why the others left me…"

"You are doing fine, just clear your mind and focus on your chakra. I'm right here, so nothing will happen." The white haired ninja assured the boy in a gentle voice.

He started and slowly turned, muttering, "Atem?" His face fell slightly, but still smiled sweetly up at the ninja. "Thank you."

Yugi turned back. *I could swear I just heard Atem, but I guess my mind was just making me hear what would bring me the most security.* He again attempted the exercise, his mind on making the once great Pharaoh proud of having once shared his body. He smiled happily when he made it to the other side and came back the same way. "I finally got it." The small teen giggled happily. "Thank you for the encouragement, Jiraiya-sensei."

The man waved it off. "I was just telling you what you told Serenity yesterday. Was the thing you kept seeing the being pulled under water? And what was that that you called me?"

The boy shrugged. "That scene just wouldn't leave me alone for some reason. And the name…My mind made me hear my brother's voice. He always gave me encouragement when I started to doubt myself." He called the ancient spirit his brother because he didn't want to go into the explanation of who he truly was—too many memories—and he had always felt the older being was like a brother.

The ninja didn't fully believe him, but he wasn't going to push. The boy had already told them a great deal about himself so if he wanted secrets, he could have them. He just nodded, but noted the relief in the boy's eyes. *Did he read that I didn't fully believe him?* "Keep working on it until it becomes second nature for you. You have another half hour before you have to continue."

Yugi nodded and practiced for a while more until Jiraiya called him in. When he walked in, the ninja did a couple of hand signs and placed his glowing hand on the teen's shoulder, instantly drying him. He smiled up at the older man in thanks.

They walked over to the others, where they were just getting out of the stream. Joey smiled over at his friend. "Yo, bro. How'd you do?"

"I couldn't get it at first, but Jiraiya-sensei helped me with it." Yugi told him.

"How are you not wet, then?" Joey cocked his head to the side.

Before Yugi could answer, Jiraiya did the hand signs and touched Joey's shoulder. When he stepped back, Yugi and Serenity began to giggle as did Hinata. Joey wore a confused look which only made them laugh harder; Gai joining in while pulling out his small mirror and handing it to the blonde. His eye twitched at what he saw in his reflection. His hair was sticking up on end, electricity was still charging through it. "The heck, dude?"

Yugi and the others laughed harder. "Why didn't Yugi's hair do that?" Serenity managed out.

Joey smirked. "How could you ever tell? His hair always looks like that."

Yugi half glared at the taller boy, then stuck his tongue out at him. "Ha-ha, Joey. You do realize I could make that look permanent for you." His face changed to a sickeningly sweet and innocent.

"I'm good." The blonde assured, looking slightly nervous.

"Alright, now. I need you three to take a piece of this paper and lay it flat on your hand. Then channel your chakra in to it. This'll tell us your elemental affinity." Jiraiya called to get their attention.

The three nodded and did as they were told. Joey's instantly burst into flames, but wouldn't burn. When the flames went out, the paper crumbled to the ground to blend in with the dirt there. "So Joey's primary element is fire and secondary is earth. I think I can work easily with that." Gai commented.

Serenity was next. The paper was cleanly cut in half before becoming completely soaked. "Primary is wind, like Naruto-kun, and secondary is water, like me. I know exactly how to help you with your elements." Hinata smiled.

Everyone turned to Yugi as he began to push chakra into the paper. Two things happened at once. One side began to glow a blinding white and the other was surrounded by a deep black darkness. In the center, instead of the two repelling each other, they mingled together, gently caressing each other.

All the ninja stared in shock. Not only did the boy have two primary elements, they were two that had never been said to be used by a ninja in any of the five elemental nations. The Nara clan used shadows, yes, but it was shadows and nothing more. Yugi's darkness was on a higher level. He ended the energy flow, smiling sheepishly. Joey and Serenity laughed slightly. The blonde slapped him on the shoulder. "Show off."

Yugi rolled his eyes before turning his attention to the quiet ninja, cocking his head to the side when he saw the surprised looks they all wore. "What is it?" Yugi asked.

"How can you use elements that have NEVER been used before?" Neji blurted out.

The boy shrugged. "Probably has something to do with my variation of Shadow Magic. I was called a Hikari for years during my original training. My brother was called a Yami. When he left us, he gave me his strength and Magic. Maybe that's where it's from." *I guess this means my soul was finally made whole. In some ways, I wonder if this is better…*

Joey's arm wound around the boy's shoulder and pulled him against his side. "He still thinks about you and is proud of you. You know that. Just remember what he always told you." The blonde's voice was gentle.

The air had grown thick around Yugi, but finally the boy smiled and nodded. "Don't we need to work on something else? I don't want to hold us up."

Jiraiya spoke up. "Alright. You guys already know who you're teamed with, so I want all of us to meet back up in this area at noon for our break. Dismissed."

The three groups broke up and the siblings' groups walked away. The Sanin waved the remaining two boys to follow him. When they stopped, they were at a beautiful waterfall and stream. "This is where I started the training of two of my most powerful students. I will start your individual training here. What we will begin with is having you call up the two elements independent of each other. I don't know how often you trained with both sides of your Shadow Magic, but I wouldn't think it would be too different of a feeling with each element. Try tapping into that feeling at first. Eventually you should be able to pull them up by thought alone. For now, just try to call it around your hand."

Yugi nodded and began to concentrate. He could feel the Magic within him in moments, but separating it into two separate parts was a great deal more difficult. He began to think back to when he shared his body with Atem and how his power felt then, when he was a Hikari only. After some unperceived time, he recalled the sensation and applied it to his chakra. A bright white light surrounded his outstretched hand as he opened his eyes, which were glowing a bright lilac. The boy was sweating from the exertion of keeping the two completely separate. He could feel the dark half trying to fight its way to the surface to join the light. After a few more seconds, the darkness flared and burst through. The force knocked the small teen over, his chakra forcibly dispersing.

The Duel King slowly sat up, slowly blinking in surprise. "It would seem that your dark side doesn't want your light to be out alone. Neji, watch him and his chakra and let him know the dark is coming before it gets too far so he can control it better, or be more prepared for it." The Sannin spoke up.

The dark haired ninja nodded before activating his Byakugan while Yugi stood back up and began to concentrate on pulling the light back to his hand, alone. Almost instantly Neji was telling Yugi his other element was making its way up to be with the other. Yugi nodded before racking his brain to figure out how to stop it. Instantly the boy had a memory burst of dueling Joey on the pier. He remembered asking Yami to allow him to duel and reassuring the Pharaoh that he would be fine. This gave him an idea. He gently sent some of the light chakra back to the dark, brushing it against the other in an almost reassuring way. After a couple of seconds the dark chakra receded and wasn't a problem again after that. For the next hour or so, they watched the boy train with calling the light chakra. Soon it became second nature to him, at least for now. It felt as if it melded with his sprit, though it made sense to him: he was a Hikari.

The boy stumbled back a bit, before barely catching himself. "Good job, Yugi. Rest a bit, and then we'll try the dark chakra." Jiraiya commented.

Yugi nodded before sitting heavily on the ground, slightly out of breath. "How were you able to finally keep the other element in check?" Neji asked.

"Well, I just used to the light to nudge it. I remembered having to do it with my brother once. He didn't want me to do something by myself because he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to protect me. I reassured him I would be ok and that I needed to prove I could do things on my own because he wouldn't always be there to protect me. I used that concept, and it seemed to work." The duelist explained.

They noticed the almost wistful voice the boy used, but didn't comment. After another few minutes he stood back up and continued his chakra training. This time he began to call up the dark chakra. It was harder to control, not as bad as it could have been even though there was a noticeable difference between his command of the two. Yugi tired much quicker as well, so Jiraiya called an end to practice for the moment. Neji spoke up, "You were wasting much more chakra this time around. You were beginning to decrease the amount that came up at once close the end, but it was still too large an amount to pull."

Yugi nodded. "It felt that way, but I couldn't stop it. I'm not a natural with dark Shadow Magic; that was my brother. My spirit is in sync with the light. It's going to take a while before I can get the dark element under any good control."

Jiraiya and Neji nodded in understanding. "We'll work on it each day until you can at least half you wasted amount. For now, let's go and see if the others are ready for lunch so we can get back for taijutsu training."

"Ok." Yugi slowly stood up, trying to keep from swaying too much. Once on his feet, he stood for a moment to make sure he wouldn't end up on the ground once again. When he was satisfied that he wasn't going to fall, he began to trail behind his two sensei.

After a short walk they were again in the clearing they had started in earlier that morning. They were greeted by a worn Serenity and Joey, though Joey still seemed to have more energy than any one standing there, except maybe Gai. "Ok, you kids go get lunch and be back here in about an hour and a half. Gai and I are going to report to Tsunade-hime." Jiraiya dismissed.

The teens agreed and the Konoha natives led the Domino duelists to the small Beef-Pot restaurant Choji and his group frequented. The two adults were off to tell their leader of the new set of surprises their guests were full of.

An hour and a half later saw the two groups met once again in the small clearing, the younger looking much more rested than when they had left. "Ok," Jiraiya began, "Tsunade wants constant updates and tracts on your chakra, Yugi. As Neji pointed out, there's never been anyone with your specific elements before. We will be doing research on jutsu we can modify for your use once you are ready. But we are also going to be documenting your elements, just to let you know. Now then, we are going to break up into our groups again, and start taijutsu training. For today, you will be working on stances and blocks. Tomorrow will be hand techniques and the next day foot techniques. After that we will be combining them in various drills to allow you to move between the easily. It also keeps you from committing one set of combinations to memory and constantly relying on them with no variation. That could get you injured at the lease or killed at the worst, and as you have people waiting for your return we would like to curb the later for happening. Each day will be a building. Once you have the techniques, we will have the three of you spar one another and then give you critiques. And then once dismissed, you will go home to meet up with Iruka for your text-based knowledge. Now, let's begin."

The teens broke up into their groups once again before following their assigned sensei. This was to be their training for the next 2 weeks. At that point, Yugi decided, it was time to introduce a new step: Shadow Magic Training. Little did he know it would make everything that much more complicated…

A/N:

I had gotten a couple of questions about the Duel Spirits' names, so I have typed up an explanation on my profile under: 2/7/11 for anyone who is interested in it. If anyone has anymore suggestions for weapons for Joey and Serenity, let me know! I'm fairly sure I know what I'm going to do on the subject of Atem, and I want to thank you guys for suggestions/votes! If anyone wants a training regimen for them (that's actually one thing I was trying to research, but I couldn't find any good explanation to what they are taught at taijutsu, so I just kind of left it hanging), you can PM me, and I'll give you one from my dojo, but it won't be Gai-style or anything ^_^


	9. Ch 9 Meanwhile

A/N: Hey, guys! I've finally been able to work out this chapter. I knew what I wanted, but it was much more difficult than I thought it would be. This chapter, as you'll find out, is about showing what the others in each world are doing and to set a time frame for what's going on. I've put an explanation after each scene, so I hope it's not too confusing (if it is, just let me know). Some had been asking what was going on with the others, so I decided to tell everyone. The ending was suggested by a fellow commenter, Doc4, so points for their awesomeness. I want to thank all of you that has commented and added this to favorites.

Disclaimer: The series are owned by their incredible creators Kazuki Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto, in other words, not me ^_^

Chapter 9 Meanwhile

Tristan waved goodbye to Miho after he dropped her off at her house. He had taken her out to dinner as she was leaving the next day for a trip with her parents and would be gone for the next couple of weeks. He walked away after she had made it inside the small cottage style house. Revving up his motorcycle, he headed back to the main part of the city.

He was now headed to the Kame Game Shop. He planned to talk with his friends to try and straighten out everything that had been going on. Joey had made a few comments that, while not cruel, made him realize that he had been neglecting the people that he had gone through so much with. And then there was Yugi. The boy had started to worry him with the way his attitude had started to turn. He was acting drawn in again, and he wasn't going to let that continue. He wasn't sure why he had started this turn, but he was going to try and help reverse it.

Tristan looked at his watch, seeing they had been out of school for a few hours now as he pulled up to the shop. He was surprised to see the lights still on. Usually, Solomon had closed up the shop by then and was hanging out with his grandson and the gang. Had things changed that much in that short of a time? Had he really been out of the loop for that long? He opened the small shop's glass door to see the short elderly man nervously pacing. Mai and Ryou were also sitting in the store-front, behind the counter, both wearing worried looks.

The archeologist turned grandpa spun around at the sound of the bell ringing from Tristan opening the door. His worried eyes were narrowed as they landed on the tall lanky teen, and upon seeing who it was, he deflated. He went back to pacing. The confusion Tristan was feeling must have been written on his face because Mai spoke up. "We saw Yugi, Joey, and Serenity in the park about four hours ago, and we both told them we'd come over later. They told us they'd be here, but Solomon hasn't seen them since this morning. Ryou checked the park while I went by Joey's apartment. Neither of us found anything; the apartment was clean and not even Mr. Wheeler was there. I do remember Joey saying his dad was going on a business trip, but that doesn't explain where they are."

Tristan was surprised, especially since there was no trace of the three to be found. Ryou was the next to speak up, his voice as quiet as always, "I found their back packs, but there wasn't any clue in them. There wasn't even a note saying they were kidnapped. We don't know what's going on."

Tristan was quiet; slowly processing everything before a thought came to him. "Did you feel any strange energy? Have you asked your guardians?"

All three looked sheepish. "No…" was the collected response.

"I didn't think to feel for energy where I found their bags. Maybe there is some residue on them." Ryou admitted. The albino picked up what he brunette recognized as Yugi's bag. The boy mumbled something and the third eye appeared on his forehead. He concentrated for a few seconds before pulling back. "There is a foreign energy, one I don't recognize as Shadow Magic. Someone has them."

Mai stood. "We should ask the Monsters and see if they've heard anything."

They nodded, and each called their guardian. Instantly Harpy Lady, Cyber Commander, and Dark Necrofear appeared. Cyber Commander looked around, "What's up? What's the threat?"

"Yugi, Joey, and Serenity are missing. They have been for hours, and Ryou detected a strange energy on their bags. Have you heard anything?" Mai asked.

"Yes, we have been watching over them. They are needed in another world. They are safe, for now, but will be put into danger many times. We are there to protect them, as called." Came Dark Necrofear's soft, but chilling voice.

"Don't go scaring them to death, Hana. But seriously, don't worry. Those three are being trained to take on what's coming. Yugi's actually about to start their Shadow Magic training. He knows what he's doing; he is our King after all. They've been training in that world for 2 weeks, maybe a little more. It's going to be ok." Rangiku assured.

"So you mean that my girlfriend has kept me from being there to help and protect my friends, the very ones that I swore to always be there to help in any way I was needed, whenever I was needed?" Tristan ground out. His irritation was showing, or maybe it was a mask to hide his worry. "They have to go through—most likely—some horrible events, and I can't be there to help them. Miho had no right to tell me I shouldn't hang out with my friends anymore. It's not her business if I see them every so often. If she can, then so can I!" The brunette was practically growling by the end of his observation. He was seething. Sure, he did care for Miho, but so many things had glued him to Joey and Yugi over the years. He shouldn't have to choose between two people who were like his brothers and his girlfriend for the past couple of months. He really wondered where that sweet, shy—if a bit dense—girl he had fallen for had went. "When Miho gets back, we are going to have a long chat. I want her to understand just what we have been through and how important my friends are to me."

Before the boy could seethe further, Mai spoke up, "Is there any way we can go and help them?"

Hiro, the Cyber Commander, shook his head no. "We weren't the ones to take them there. But, like Rangiku said, everything is under control. We're going to take care of them, and they are being cared for by the ninjas there."

"We'll also bring you guys constant updates. You will know what's going on with them. We'll also let them know how you guys are doing. I know Joey is worried about you, Mai, especially when he found out I was going to be one of Serenity's guardians." The harpy assured

The 3 teens sighed. "So we just have to wait and pray?" came Ryou's quiet voice.

"I am sorry, master." Hana's gentle voice sounded. "But yes. Your faith in them will be how you help. The danger will be great, and they already know that as they have already seen what this village is capable of, and Joey has already been threatened."

At the worried gasps, Rangiku gave the necromancer a look, before sighing herself and explaining the events at the Uchiha residence and with Kakashi. She then told them how each were/are being taken care of.

Solomon chuckled, "That sounds like something Joey would say and do. I'm more surprised by my Yugi's reactions to this Kakashi person. Do you think he would have done anything to him?"

"It's possible. We were all angry. We wanted to have fun with him, maybe some target practice." Hiro confessed.

"He was willing to at least maim the man's hand if he resisted. I believe our king would not have sent the man to the Shadow Realm and us unless he caused greater harm to Joey Wheeler. He would not have had the coldness or hate to do such. "Hana pointed out.

They all nodded in agreement. After a few moments of silence, Solomon spoke up. "Thank you for letting us know what's happened to those three. We've been worried for a while. I'm glad you will be taking care of them, just please bring them back to us safely."

"We will. And like we said, our king will guide them well, and he knows what he's doing. We should be heading back now. We'll let them know you are concerned and that you rooting for them." Rangiku assured.

When the group nodded once again, the three Duel Spirits faded from existence, returning to their land. "Well, looks like we are going to be a having a while of mental cheering. I just hope they come back soon…" Tristan spoke up after they had been silent for a while. The other three made sounds of agreement before parting ways for the night. They didn't want to think of what may happen if their friends came upon something they couldn't handle, and it scared them too much to think about how this little trip may change them. For now they would just hope, pray, and send them all the faith they had.

(AN: This was to set up a time frame and, of course, to show what the others are doing. In the YGO universe it's been about 4 hours and in the Naruto universe it's been about 2 weeks. I'm going to be working on the assumption of 4hrs=2weeks. I thought you guys may want a time frame, as it's always nice to have that extra bit of information ^_^).

Naruto slowly pulled himself out of the river. He and Gaara had been running for nearly 3 weeks with very little rest to recuperate their wounds. They were both tired and weary, but they had to keep going. The blonde knew they would be safer at their own villages with the excess ninja, but they were too far away and risked too big of a chance of being found by the Akatsuki once again, putting their family and friends in danger. He slumped down on the hard dirt bank as he reassessed what they had been through so far.

They had separated from the rest in an attempt to protect the others, but it had only partially worked. The two had been able to get away and hide for a while, but just about 2 weeks or so ago they had been attacked by quite a few of the group's minions. The grunts hadn't been overly strong but there had been so many of them, and they had been already worn down from trying to lose their pursuers. They had defeated the group, but not without injuries. He had a large gash on his side that wasn't healing well thanks to no rest and having to hide his chakra signature by suppression. His arm was also not doing well. One of the cronies had gotten a cheap shot in and had snapped his radius and ulna, something that the little amount of healing his demon chakra was doing was turning into a problem. They had to get somewhere the Akatsuki wouldn't be able to find them for a while, get rest, and actually heal properly. The time they would spend in the river to decrease their scent while traveling was also not helping their gashes or slashes or stabs. The rushing water kept opening the wounds that would scab over in the short times they would stop to eat.

As his mind wandered, he looked back to make sure his red-head friend also pulled himself out of the river. The Kazekage had lost most of his leader robes by way of fighting and fast-flowing water. He was slowly, slower than Naruto had, pulling himself out of the water. Naruto smiled weakly at his friend before collapsing on the bank.

Gaara looked up at the blonde as he fought the water to move out of the water current. He sat down upon crawling out. He was glad he had decided to leave his gourd in Suna, as by now he would have lost it or been weighted down by it. He ran his, as of a couple of weeks ago, clawed hand through his sopping hair. The two demons within them—or in his case what was left after the attempt to relinquish the boy of the demon—had begun and even sped up the fusion process between them. Now, no matter how hard the group tried, they could never separate them. With Naruto and Kyuubi, it would be awhile before they were fully merged, but the process was far enough along already to keep them from ever being separated. He and Shukaku were almost completely merged partly because his demon wasn't as powerful as Naruto's but also because of the pull-apart that had already occurred a few months ago.

The red-head knew that the merger was protecting Naruto from a lot of the pain of his injuries and was keeping them both going, but it was also causing the blonde problems. He had spied him at night, while they were treating their wounds for the day, and had seen the boy re-breaking his arm each night. It was difficult to keep the bones set let alone set properly in the first place with all they had to go through each day.

"Where are we to go now, Naruto? You are more familiar with this land than me."

"I'm hoping we can quickly make it to one of two villages that will be willing to take us in. I have friends in both, and the Akatsuki wouldn't really expect us to be there, since we haven't ran into any of them for a while. One of the villages, they may not even be able to get in until well after we've rested at least. The other is small, but have some strong protectors." Naruto sighed out as he started to try and stand again. "We should get going, if you're ready, Gaara."

The other ninja nodded before slowing making his way to his feet. They both knew they had to get to either village as soon as possible, before it was too late.

They continued on, following the river on the bank instead of the being in the flow. After another hour the two saw a large bridge in the distance. As they continued to near the large infrastructure, Naruto began to recognize it. "We're at Wave, Gaara. My old team helped to build this bridge. We're almost at the small village I mentioned. We can rest soon."

Before long, they reached the huge bridge, but they instantly noticed how much the mist and fog had increased since they stepped upon it. Gaara was worried about it as he remembered Kisame was from the Mist. However, Naruto smiled gently. *The both of you are still looking after these people aren't you.* Almost as an answer to the boy, the air cooled before warming again.

Half way across the bridge, both were stopped by a small shadowy figure calling out to them. "What business do you have here?"

"Inari, is that you, little bro?" Naruto returned.

"Naruto? Is that you?" A small child came forward, through the mist. When the boy saw the 2 of them his eyes widened. "What happened, big brother? Who is this?"

"Yeah, it's me, Inari. Remember that group I was telling you about the last time I was here?" At the boy's nod, he continued. "They attacked us a couple of weeks ago. Our demons are fusing with us to keep us alive. I'll explain the rest later, kiddo. Can we get shelter here?"

"Of course! Wait one second, and I'll get someone to watch the post for me real quick." The boy took off into the mist, disappearing once again.

"You were so open to him about our demons. How did you know he would not turn us away?" Gaara asked after the boy left.

"He's my adopted little brother. I told him everything before this bridge was finished. I felt like he had the right to know why I snapped at him the night or so before the huge fight that went down right here. He took it really well and even got angry at Konoha. That was the day he declared me is official big brother. His mother, Tsunami, was ok with it too, even cried for me. Tazuna—the one who we were protecting and Inari's grandpa—told me that anytime he went to Konoha for missions, he would always request me for it. These are good people. They even buried and do great upkeep of the graves of 2 enemies, the very ones that were hired to kill the old man. Those 2 even watch over the village." Naruto explained.

"What do you mean by that?" Gaara looked around himself.

"Weren't you wondering about the mist that's randomly covering the area? It's not Kisame, that's for sure. It's from Zabuza. He uses it to shield this tiny village." A section of mist formed around the blonde teen's shoulders, and he smiled. "It's also cooler here than where we just came from. That's Haku's doing. Zabuza was the 'Demon of the Mist', and Haku was the child he took in and raised with the incredible ability to control ice, his Kekkei Genkai." A cool wind blew through, causing the blonde to shiver slightly, but smile.

A few seconds later Inari ran up with a man behind him that Naruto recognized as one of the men that had worked on the bridge. "Hey, Naruto. Wow, Inari was right, you 2 look horrible. Go get some rest, boys. I'll take over as the look out."

"Hey to you too, Nambi. Thanks, running from a group of psychos for nearly a month has started to take its toll."

The older man nodded before disappearing into the mist to take his spot as look-out. Inari motioned for the weary ninjas to follow him, taking the two to his house. "Mom's going to be really happy to see you, Naruto. I wish grandpa was here, but he's out on a commission at the moment."

"Aw, that's too bad. I was hoping to see the old man. How's your mom doing?" He answered back.

"She's doing well. She's really been big in our new school and pushing to increase defense around here. She's really trying to push dad's ideals that the village had lost when he was killed."

"I'm glad to hear that. It's great that the Wave is finally getting fully back on its feet." Naruto wearily smiled.

They walked the rest of the way to the small boy's house. When they reached the home, the two ninja were ready to collapse. Tsunami came out at her son's call and gasped at the two teen's condition. She herded them into the home and to a small room that Naruto recognized as the one Kakashi had used when he and the team had been there. Their wounds were quickly treated as the boys dozed off. Naruto finally felt safe, and Gaara trusted Naruto to know these people well enough to feel comfortable to sleep. The blonde's arm was reset and stabilized properly and their deeper wounds were sutured up. Soon both teens were cleaned up, treated, resting.

Afterward, Tsunami gathered the dirty supplies and, telling Inari to come get her when either of them awoke, she went to fix dinner for the group.

Over the next couple of weeks or so the two rested and healed, not training until they were fully healed. Gaara learned more about the village and Naruto's relationships with the people in the tiny fishing town. They decided to stay for a while longer, at least until Gaara had finished his fusion or someone from one of their homes came and found them. The later would be sooner than they thought.

(A/N: One week before these two got to Wave was when Yugi and the others arrived. The time they spend in Wave for recuperating is the ending half of training I described in the last chapter and what is coming up in the next chapter or so.)

Kisame sighed. The past week had been way too boring for his liking. Then again, he never did like waiting and watching. The two demon brats hadn't moved from the fishing village the entire time, and they couldn't get any closer. If they tried—actually Kisame had been the one to try, but he was bored and Itachi had been away—the air in the lungs began to freeze as the fog got thicker, then his blood began to move slowly and painfully. He had quickly gotten away before things had gotten worse. When he reported it to Itachi, he had just told him that he needed to learn patience. The rest of the time had been full of them scouting the area and doing nothing. They had felt a disturbance just before arriving in the area, but Itachi told him not to worry with it. He spun the scaled sword in his hand, wishing something interesting would happen, or the boys would come out finally.

As the blue scaled man sat on the rocks, Itachi sat at attention, as he usually did, with a blank look on his face. Kisame knew that look; it was the look the cold man got every time he was thinking of his old home. There was no talking to him for the next few days; Itachi always brooded more during that time and was more lethal at that, and Kisame preferred his head right where it was.

Just as the day seemed like it was going to continue like every other day there was a huge explosion of unidentifiable power coming from the direction of Konoha. Both Akatsuki members were on their feet, readying for a fight, but none was forthcoming. After another few minutes things seemed to settle back down, and both men relaxed without dropping their guard. Suddenly, Itachi was down, completely out of it. The scaled man went rigid, waiting on another attack, but none ever came. He quickly grabbed the Uchiha's body and took to shelter, watching for the one that attacked the man the entire way. Once inside the small hut they had made their cover, Kisame laid the young man down and went to fortify the place while he waited for the other to reawaken.

Over the next couple of hours, Kisame sat and watched. While it was the same as he had been doing over the last week, this time his nerves were too on edge to be bored. He wouldn't admit it, not even to himself, but he was scared. If this, whatever it was, could take Itachi out so easily and not even be sensed, what chance did he have against it?

Finally, after nearly 4 hours, the black haired man awoke. He took in his surroundings for a moment before his eyes landed on his partner's questioning face. "It would seem Konoha has some powerful guests. They caught the eye of the war monger himself, Danzo. I believe we should stop by for a visit. They could be very useful to our cause. Come, Kisame." Itachi stated before standing from the cot and walking out of the door.

Kisame shrugged. He already knew he wouldn't get any answers as to what had happened with the emotionless Uchiha, so the abrupt brush off wasn't a surprise. What he did wonder about was how he knew about Konoha. Maybe it was a connection he had with the village since he came from it, but then again Kisame never had any visions about the Mist. Oh well, there was no point in trying to figure it out. His answers would either come or not, that was just how things were with Itachi.

(A/N: The week is the first half of the time Naruto and Gaara are in the Wave village. This is starting the brunt of what will be explained in the next chapter of so.)

Feeling the massive pull of chakra being used to open up the dimensional door, Orochimaru decided to see just what Konoha was up to. He sent Sasuke off to their old village with the orders to report, observe, and, if whoever was brought seemed powerful enough, bring them to their side. The black haired teen set off to the tree hidden village. He had been traveling for about a week now, not really in a rush, just happy to be out of the Sound village for once and getting to stretch his muscles some. He wasn't an idiot; he knew why the snake charmer wanted to 'keep him safe.' He was just making sure his latest vessel didn't get damaged before the transfer. He had been doing secret training without the curse mark to increase his own power, and he had realized why Orochimaru had told him to not train on his own: his mind had begun to clear, and he began to remember who he really was.

It had already been nearly 2 weeks since the chakra pull, and he wasn't too far from Konoha when the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. A power surged through the area coming from one of the training grounds. It was energy not at all related to chakra and strong enough to send a shudder through him. Once the energy settled, he took off toward the village at a fast sprint, searching for the source. If he could find it, not only would he be able to kill his so-called master, but his brother as well. He had to have it. But would his strength be enough to overpower the individual and allow him to take what he wanted or believed he needed. Only coming face-to-face with them would tell.

(A/N: I'm fairly certain this one explains Sasuke's time line without my help ^_^ Now for the Present time I've been hinting at with the last 2.)

Yugi stood in front of his two friends, their senseis around them, watching for anything going wrong. "Ok, I want you to concentrate, like when you called up your chakra. Instead of pulling a life force, I want you to search for a power connected to your soul. Try only pulling a small amount up. I know you've already unlocked your's, Joey, but don't let your emotions override control. They make it stronger and harder to control."

The two nodded and began to slowly contact their Shadow Magic, using Yugi's words of coaching, the feeling that came from summoning their guardians, and the instruction the said guardians had given. Over the next few minutes, everything was quiet, when suddenly the golden light of the Eye of Ra appeared on the siblings' foreheads. Both opened their eyes, looking at Yugi who smile at them.

"Great job, guys. Now, let's try a small Shadow Blast." Yugi then began to explain how to call up the small amount of Magic needed as he showed them what to do. Once done, the Duel King shot the crackling mass of Shadows towards a nearby tree, causing a large portion to erupt from the center.

Serenity was the next to try, her blast fading out half way to another tree. She continued to try while her brother began his turn.

Seeing her first failed attempt, Joey tried to push extra Magic into his crackling mass. Before Yugi could warn him that it was too much, the blonde shot it off. The power's ripple effect upon impact with the tree was literally felt by all in the clearing, and most likely for miles. The tree was also obliterated, and Yugi had to bring up a shield to keep the splinters from flying through any of them. "Joey, I said to bring up a SMALL amount."

"I was trying. I thought I may need more than what I had because of Ren's dissipating. I didn't know it was going to blow everything up." Joey confessed.

Suddenly, ANBU appeared, surrounding the group. The leader turned to Jiraiya, "The Council demands to know what that shock wave just now was, and have ordered us to bring the individuals responsible. The village is in an uproar."

The white haired man sighed. "And Tsunade. Does she know of this demand?"

"We have sent members to inform her. We have orders, again, to take those responsible for the disturbance into custody." The leader continued.

Yugi sighed in exasperation before disapprovingly looking at Joey who looked sheepish. "Sorry. I have no control when it comes to this stuff."

The ANBU looked the three teens over, noting that they had never seen them before. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

Jiraiya spoke up before the three unknowingly said something they shouldn't. "We brought them here to train them to help with getting Naruto and Gaara back as well as getting rid of our snake problem. It was by Tsunade's orders that they be brought here and trained. The Council has no say in what happens with them, nor do they concern them."

"I believe that is their decision to make." The leader grabbed onto Yugi's arm tightly, causing the small boy to cry out in pain and surprise. One of each of the others were also grabbed much the same way. The three performed a hand sign before disappearing.

"Crap. We have to get the council room before they hurt those three. Fortunately, Hiashi is on it so he'll keep them safe until we can get there. Let's get going." The oldest ninja reacted before sprinting toward the village, praying to get there before something bad happened.

They met Tsunade just as she was stomping out of her office. Their eyes met, and they all knew there were two things going through their heads: this was going to go badly and change the lives of all involved.

Yugi and the others stood in front of the council, who were eying them suspiciously—except for Hiashi who was trying to mentally calm the small group of teens. An elderly man stood up and hobbled towards the duelists, his visible eye boring into them causing Yugi and Serenity to cringe back but Joey to glare back. "Why are you here? To find out our village's secrets to take them back to your own? You three were the ones to cause that power surge?" He continued to hound the three until Serenity was nearly in tears, Yugi was getting agitated, and Joey's anger was beginning to flare.

Seeing the volatile attitudes Joey and Yugi were showing, the man smirked. Just as he began to speak again the door flew open, allowing Tsunade and the others to come bursting in. The group saw the almost wicked smirk on the war monger's face made their blood run cold. "Danzou, what are you thinking?" Tsunade growled out.

"I know what you have ordered. These three aren't from this world, I can feel it. What far reaches you go to, Tsunade-sama, to bring back an unwanted demon brat. Well I propose something else. I will take the boys and force them into submission until they work under my control, to help truly protect this village and destroy ALL of our enemies. The girl will be useful as well. She will become our breed mare, giving powerful off-spring to each clan, all to be raised to become powerful ninja under the control of the village." He declared.

"You mean under your control. They are not you pets to do with as you will." Tsunade growled out.

"I can, and I will. ROOT, get them now!" Danzou smirked.

A group of color changed ANBU appeared around the three teens. Two grabbed Joey and Yugi and another grabbed Serenity and began to separate them. Joey's Shadow Magic began to crackle around him while their trainers and Tsunade began to vocally object, and Hiashi activated his Byakugan, but there was a strong tension around Yugi. Suddenly a bright shining golden light burst from Yugi, shoving away the ROOT member holding him, slamming the man against the wall. Everyone froze, and Joey's Shadow Magic receded. The two siblings recognized instantly the aura around the Game King. He stood taller, almost regal in his appearance.

Danzou's eyes widened as the boy's eyes met his. There was a crimson hue to the amethyst now and a confident smirk appeared upon his lips. His thinned eyes showed a darker, justice driven, force than Danzou had ever seen. The boy then spoke one sentence, his voice deeper, more confident, "Come, play a game with me."

A/N: Yes, what just happened is what you think just happened. An explanation will be coming with the next chapter, I promise. I will admit, what I know of Danzou is from Wikipedia…I'm so behind on Naruto, that it's kind of sad, but that's what Vet school and not having cable does to you. Classes are about to start slowing down, so hopefully in May I'll start to be able to get these chapters out faster. I still want suggestions for weapons for both Joey and Serenity. And, after a suggestion/question from a commenter, I'm wondering if you guys would like the idea of Yugi being able to summon the three "spirits of the items". It would be kind of like: for Atem, he would come forth when Yugi summons 'The Spirit of the Pharaoh' monster. For Y. Bakura or Malik, I would come up with another set of actual monsters or create another for each of them. Give me a comment with your ideas, suggestions, and thoughts. Also, I found my old notes about Chapter 7, and I really like the way it was written out (some of the explanations seemed more feasible for Kakashi's reaction). I'm thinking about re-writing that part of the chapter, and when I do I'll put a note on my profile.


	10. Ch 10 Shadow Game

A/N: I'm SO sorry guys that this took forever! I've had a really stressful summer. I had planned on having this out nearly 2 months ago, if not farther back. I had most of it finished, but the Shadow Game kept giving me problems, then some bad things came up with school. On a good note, Vet school won't be getting in my way of writing for another 2 years. On a bad note, I'm having problems getting into graduate school…Will it never end? T_T Anyway, I hope this is worth the wait and doesn't feel too rushed. Please let me know!

Thank you ALL for the favorites and alter adding. It really makes me happy that so many actually like this!

Oh, and awesome anonymous person who wrote the review about the general perception of Yugi, I want to say that you took the words from my mouth! I'm not sure if you were saying that I made Yugi seem less incredible than he was, or rather not giving him enough credit, with some comments/phrases I've said, but I can assure you that is not the case. I see him as someone who isn't give his due rewards by fans and sometimes the series. You are right, he does come up with pretty much all the strategies used, and in a sense is the bravest, most powerful character the series has, even though he does have low self-esteem and tends to discredit himself. And I could go on telling everyone just how awesome I think Yugi is, but I don't really want to take much more space.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters at all. I just own the little plot I've shoved the characters into.

Chapter 10 Shadow Game

Joey and Serenity looked at each other, exchanging the same thought with their eyes: How is he back?

Before anyone could speak, Yugi spoke up again, "Come, I have just the game for you, Danzou, if you have the courage to play."

Danzou had a look of worry flash across his eyes for a mere moment before he stood up straighter—as straight as he could—and Yugi knew he was taking the bait. "I'll decide after you tell me the rules, and what is in it for me."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll love this game. It's a combination of war and chess. We each choose 5 warriors to do battle for us. We become Generals, leading our fighters into battle against the enemy, much like the king in chess. Anything is allowed, except attacking of the General before all of his soldiers are defeated. If one of us does cheat, there will be a Penalty Game awaiting the one that did. At the end of the battle, if you are the winner, you may do what you will with us. However, if you lose, darkness will await you. Now, I have told you the rules, consequences, and rewards. Are you up for the challenge? Do you have the daring?"

Danzou seemed to be thinking it over. On one hand, he had so much to gain, but on the other, what does 'darkness awaiting' mean…? Finally he came to a conclusion, he couldn't lose; he was one of the best strategist the village had when it came to war and destroying the enemy. He looked the Game King in the eye, "I'll play your game."

The smirk that flitted across the young teen's face was full of confidence and victory. He swiped his arm over the area, changing the scheme of the entire room, surprising all that had never seen a Shadow Game before. The floor between them seemed to lengthen, putting distance between the leading players. The air crackled with dark energy. "I hope you know what you're doing, Yug. Go get him, bro. We're counting on you, and we know you won't let us down." Joey spoke up.

The tri-colored haired teen looked back at his friends and nodded to them, giving a gentle smile before turning back around and the smirk was back on his face. "Go ahead. Begin choosing your fighters. They can be from either realm. Choose your five wisely."

Danzou just nodded sharply. Both began to study each other and prepare in their minds their fighting force. Suddenly both began to call out names, each set only meaning something to those that were familiar with that person. The 10 warriors stood across from each other, Yugi's group understanding instantly what was happening; while Danzou's were looking around, confused.

The Duel King greeted his beings, who all turned and knelt before him. "Please stand, and prepare yourselves for battle. This is truly a fight for our freedom." The five nodded as they stood to glare at their opponents.

"If you win this battle for me, we will obtain 3 powerful beings that will be under our control for the rest of their lives and will destroy our enemies." Danzou ordered. The 5 just stared at the man blankly, a couple of which not really caring what happened to the village they had just been spirited away to.

The line-ups were the following: Yugi called out Mahado, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Kisara for simplicity), Celtic Guardian, Summoned Skull, and Timaeus; while Danzou pulled forth Itachi, Zabuza, Sai, Hashirama Senju, and Minato.

Zabuza shrugged as he stepped forward first. He figured that he should get some fun in before having to go back and watch over his tiny village. He narrowed his eyes at the giant demonic creature. "Heh, as the Demon of the Mist I guess I should take on the kid's demon. Let's fight, skeleton."

The Skull demon looked back at his leader as if asking if that is what he wants. Getting a nod as conformation, the being stepped forward, ready for battle. They exchanged blows for a few minutes, the others standing back to observe the strategies being shown. Zabuza learned quickly that his blade wasn't that useful against the inside-out demon, the strikes bouncing right off his armored bone. However, it was useful to block the sharp talons the thing called his nails. When the once dead warrior jumped back, Summoned Skull took the opportunity to beat his wings causing a large gust of wind to catch the ninja off-guard and sending him back into the pale boy on his own side. He was roughly shoved off, and that was the signal for the others to enter the fray. They ran forward, all except for the blonde on Danzou's team. Mahado also stayed back, supporting the others with magic and well-laid traps.

Minato looked around at the changed council room, at the familiar faces, at the fearful faces of those watching the battle. He could hear the blonde boy he had never seen before as well as the red haired girl, both being held by a group of ninja he thought he had ordered the dissolution of, calling out to the opposite side's leader. He watched in awe as the huge white dragon grabbed the smaller Elvin warrior and taking flight before he could get killed by a stray blast of fire. He watched as Zabuza shot out a water attack toward the demon-like creature, who met the attack with an electrical blast sending the Mist warrior back to his resting place.

Celtic Guardian had been set down once again and was fighting Hashirama, and the two began exchanging blows once again; the elf slicing away at vines that came at him with his diamond blade. The green armored elf, however, did not see the large vine coming around behind until it buried itself deeply through his back, dismissing him. Of course the once great Hokage's victory didn't last long as the other green clad warrior slashed through him, banishing him from the field. Suddenly a large painted lion came at the one-eyed fighter. The man spun around, jumping away before doing something that shocked all that had never seen the being before: he transformed into a huge beautiful emerald dragon.

In his dragon form, Timaeus sliced at the lion, instantly killing it. Sai began to draw out another creature until the dragon sent out a blast stream toward the scroll. Sai was ready for it, even if he had to sacrifice one of his battle scrolls, an explosion erupted, destroying the dragon. What he wasn't ready for was the other dragon, Kisara, getting revenge for her fallen comrade in the way of an Electron Blast aimed right at him. He was dismissed from battle instantly.

Minato looked toward Danzou and saw the desperate look in his eye. He knew the man was cooking up something devious. He was behind in line up and greedily wanting the boy's gift. Kisara flew to the side, dodging a fire blast from Itachi. This gave the war monger an opening. He had noticed that Minato would not fight. "Minato, attack that magician, be useful! You want this village safe, don't you?"

The blonde sighed. Of course he wanted his village safe, but he also did not want these children to be used under this mad man's control. He made his way over to the mage, charging up his most powerful attack: Rasengan. Mahado turned to look at the young ninja. "You do not want to fight." Came the man's gentle voice.

Minato stopped, the circling ball of chakra still swirling over his hand. "No I don't, but I also want this village safe for my son and his friends."

Mahado nodded in understanding. "I'm sure it would help your decision to know that that man is trying to harm my charge's chance of finding a boy from this village, a Naruto, and another village's leader because he wants their Shadow Magic as his own. He is not looking out for the good of this village; he is looking out for the good of himself. You know this to be true as you have dealt with him; I know this to be true because I can see into his heart."

The blonde's eyes widened at the mention of Naruto. "You mean you are here to help my son, and he is getting in your way…?"

At the mage's nod, the once powerful leader turned to glare at the man that had summoned him from his resting place. But before he could act out in a rage of counter, a large fire dragon came blasting through, headed directly for Yugi.

While the two warriors had conversed, the battle between Kisara and Itachi had been raging. At Danzou's command; however, Itachi had sent out a feint attack in the form of a fire dragon that barreled toward the giant white beast. Kisara, falling for it, took to higher skies before realizing that was what was wanted. The pure chakra and fire born creature blasted a path toward the calmly watching teenager. In a rage, the beautiful pure white dragon blasted Itachi, throwing him back to his body in a flurry of electricity, before either of the other two remaining creatures could.

The two remaining human warriors gasped at the blatant disregard to both human life and the rules of the game. Mahado began to summon a Magic Cylinder trap while Minato tried to intercept the attack. Yugi just watched as it came closer before flaring out his Shadow Magic as a shield, dissipating the fiery blast.

A smirk came to Yugi's face. "Just as I thought, Danzou. You wouldn't be able to play the game out by its rules. Now, a Penalty Game is in store of you. Penalty Game: Sins of the Past!" Darkness quickly bound Danzou, completely covering the war monger. "From now and until we find those missing ninja, you will relive every deed you have ever done to hurt another. The ones done for the actual betterment of this village will be a nice reprieve—though still painful—from those that was committed of the betterment of you. I hope you enjoy reliving your past sins."

A sudden bright purple flash erupted from around the older man before he hit the ground, unconscious. Medical teams gathered around him to take him to the near-by hospital while a couple made their way over to Yugi. Said boy turned to the Root members that still held his friends. "I believe it is time you held up his side of the deal. Let my friends go, or you will be given the same fate." Kisara landed directly behind the teen before setting her head on his shoulder. Mahado and the Summoned Skull stepped up beside their king as well. All three were ready to force the men's hands.

Minato, who was fading, walked over to them. "Unhand these children and do as was agreed on. I can't believe you would stoop so low as to try and hurt non-ninja children, I don't care how powerful they may be." His orders were followed instantly and the small group disappeared. The blonde then turned to the three—Joey and Serenity were already crowding around Yugi—and smiled. "You were brought here to protect and find my son? Please do so quickly, and thank you. I'm glad he has people that he can count on, even if he doesn't even know you yet. Please take good care of him, and tell him that I love him as does his mother." He bowed once again as he faded out of existence.

There was a hush around the room as the Shadow Realm was banished from that world and reality set in once again. It was shocking to see just who they were up against, and who they had called upon for help. The bleakness of the situation no longer looked that way. They knew they had gotten help from the right place, and their faith was not misplaced. Tsunade cleared her throat to break the eerie silence that had descended. "That was quite the display. Before you come to my office to explain a few things let me address the council…" Turning to the still stunned elders, she continued, "Do you understand now why I had them brought here? I will, also, no longer stand for your questioning of my methods. Pull a stunt like this again, and I will rid this village of a council and work with only advisors, do I make myself clear?"

At their shocked looks, the village leader smirked before looking to the three teens and their senseis, motioning for them to follow her.

As the group was walking up the steps to the Hokage office, Joey finally asked the question that had been bothering him, "How are you here, Yami? We thought you were resting for good."

"It is a long story, Joey, one that I will explain once we have entered this woman's office." Came the same confident voice that had challenged Danzou to a Game.

Meanwhile, during Tsunade's little speech, Yami had retreated to the space between the area that had once housed his soul and the soul room to the rightful owner of the body. The instant he materialized he heard his name and the pounding of feet. Before he could completely comprehend what was happening, Yugi took a flying tackle leap toward him, wrapping his arms around the taller teen's waist and burying his face into his chest. The force of the tackle glomp knocked the once great Pharaoh off his feet and onto his back. He was dazed for a moment, just before the warmth and weight of the child hugging him settled in, letting him know that this was real and that his little brother was in his arms again. Atem hugged the boy back, both murmuring words expressing just how much they missed the other.

With just that contact, Yugi knew everything that the darker one knew, and that included why he was back and for how long. Yugi wanted to cry, knowing that this reunion was not to be permanent, but he was going to enjoy every second of it while it lasted. So for now, while his body worked on auto-pilot until it got to Tsunade's office and the only break away coming from Atem answering their mutual friend's question, Yugi was content to sit in the elder's lap, curled against him while the other held him and rocked him gently. Both knew that even though it was only temporary, they were happy with the moment given them.

Once inside the office, everyone took a seat before looking at Yugi—or was it this Yami that Joey had spoken of—for answers. Of course, what they were met with was the boy slowly sitting down on the couch with a dazed look in his eyes. Joey chuckled while Serenity giggled at the confused looks the others gave. "Yeah, he ain't been with us for a while now. The two have had a lot to catch up on." Joey answered the gazes.

"How much do you want to bet our King tackle glomped our Pharaoh?" Serenity glanced between her friend and her brother.

"Not even going to take that. I know he did. I also know from experience that even though that kid is tiny, he still gets enough momentum to knock you on your butt…" Joey ended with a grumble.

"How is that possible?" Neji spoke up.

"I think it has to do with his running start. And the fact that he hits you at your stomach." Joey answered.

"I believe what Neji was meaning was the statement about him not being here with us, and two people having a lot to catch up on." Tsunade clarified.

"Oh." Joey sheepishly smiled. "That. Well, it's kinda hard to explain, so can it suffice as to being something dealing with Shadow Magic and the items we were mentioning earlier, like a couple of weeks ago?"

Jiraiya was the one to speak up this time. "I do remember you saying something about Yugi getting the items with the two spirits and the case of schizophrenia. Which is the one you're talking about now?"

"The one that appeared is Atem, Yugi's item's spirit. They were like brothers and, in a way, were. Actually, we've referred to them as twins separated at birth by time. Atem was Yugi's darkness, a Yami soul to Yugi's Hikari soul. We think that may be the origins to Yugi's ability to use Light and Dark chakra elements." Serenity explained.

"You are correct, Serenity. I am glad that you have remembered me. It is good to see you both." Came a regal voice from where Yugi was seated. As everyone turned to him, he continued "What they say is true. I am the spirit of the Pharaoh that once inhabited the Millennium Puzzle and shared Yugi's body as he so graciously allowed. I have sworn to always protect him, and have been doing so with the help of his Guardian Spirits since I have been laid to rest after 3 millennia."

After a few moments of silence for processing by the ninja, Hinata asked the question all but Yugi himself had, "How are you here?"

The attention was again placed on the boy, who, after a short pause to consider the girl, answered, "God sent me here [a/n: Remember, I'm Christian. Other than that I'll explain at the end]. He felt Yugi's fear, anger, and boiling need to protect his loved ones, and knew that in order to fully protect them He needed to send me to properly teach my little brother to his full abilities in his Shadow Magic. The monsters have been helping us determine both his strength and his well-being. When he became overwhelmed by that vile man from before, I was sent to protect and teach him once again. He will be under my tutelage in his dreams in regards to his Shadow Magic, his Egyptian sword training, and his Egyptian martial arts. He knows that this will, sadly, be for only a temporary basis, and that once done I will be returning to my eternal slumber."

"So you're the one he mentioned at the river." Jiraiya murmured and at the questioning stares, the Toad Sage elaborated, "Yugi was having a hard time with the Walking on Water Jutsu and was beginning to really doubt himself. I spoke up and gave him a couple of words of encouragement, letting him know that I wouldn't let anything happen to him. Almost as soon as the words left my mouth, he spun around and whispered a name. I asked him about it later, and he told me it was the name of his brother, a boy who had given him words much like I had."

Yami nodded. "Yugi is much stronger than he himself gives himself credit for. He often needed reassuring that the decisions he was making were the right ones and that he wasn't going to mess anything up. He is a gentle child that never got the chance to be shown what his true power could amount to."

"So I guess what basics you teach Yugi, he'll be teaching us?" Joey finally spoke up, breaking the reflective silence that had begun to stretch out.

"Yes, especially control. It seems that Serenity needs to be able to successfully increase her energy flow, and you, Joey, need to tone down what you call. Your emotions also cause a lot of fluctuation in flow, causing it to spike or dissipate depending on your emotional status." Atem explained.

Joey blushed slightly, embarrassed that the great Pharaoh could see his shortcomings that easily. But, he rationalized, both spirits within that body knew him better than probably anyone else in the world, so he really shouldn't be all that surprised.

A few more questions were asked as to what had happened back in the council room with the Pharaoh answering that it was nothing more than a Shadow Game. "A Shadow Game can reveal a person's true self. If either person looses or cheats, as what happened today and usually does with those that I've called games with, then they will receive a penalty game of some sort. There are terms given if the one summoning is honorable, and they must be adhered to upon the end of the game. If the loser does not, the resulting Penalty game is harsh and unrelenting. Sometimes the loosing opponent or cheater are swallowed by the Realm of Shadows and must wander the bleak blackness until they are released by the one they played against, either by their own loss or by their discretion."

The room was quiet again, this time there was more of a shocked feel to the room. After a few more moments Tsunade cleared her throat. "I think that is enough explanation for now. I want you all to return to your training grounds and do some light exercise before getting ready for Iruka. Jiraiya and Gai, I'd like a moment with you both. The rest of you, you're dismissed."

The remaining group bowed before heading out to the open field.

Once at the grounds Neji called for Yugi and Joey to spar while Serenity observed with him and his cousin. As the two began to circle each other, each in their own modified fighting stances, the two ninja began to feel a foreign, yet familiar chakra signature. Before they could say anything, a black and white blur sprinted forth, attacking both boys with a yell.

Sasuke had been waiting in the bushes surrounding the training grounds where the earlier energy had originated from. He knew if he waited long enough the ones responsible would return. When he saw Hinata and Neji with three people he had never seen before, he instantly knew who harbored the power. He heard Neji give them their training orders and watched as the two boys began their mandatory predatorial stalking of the other. He knew the two ninja had sensed him, but weren't sure who was watching.

The power hungry boy decided to attack and beat the tiny one into telling him where their power originated, and, if possible, take his from him. He sprinted in, already enhancing his punch with chakra before he had neared the sparing friends. The small one's wide eyes widened even more before he shouted out words in a language the Uchiha had never heard before, putting up a barrier against the punch.

When Sasuke pulled back, the small boy shoved the tall blonde out of the way. The two began trading blows, while the blonde tried to jump in as a distraction if nothing else. The self-appointed avenger shoved the oddly colored haired boy back a fair distance before turning to meet the blonde head on. He grabbed the boy's wrist, holding tight, before his eyes bled red and the black tomes began to spin. The two were frozen for a moment before they both stumbled away from each other, the blonde collapsing.

Sasuke couldn't believe it, this non-ninja had broken his Tsukiyomi, a feat that not even he could do with all the training he had been pushing upon himself. He jerked the boy up. "How did you break it?" His voice was enraged.

The boy shrugged weakly, "I guess my will is still too strong for losers like you and Malik. If I can also beat down and keep the freaking Shadow Realm from eating my soul, I think I can get out of your little trick."

Sasuke made an enraged noise in the back of his throat before punching the insolent boy in the temple, knocking him unconscious. "How is that for a little trick?" He sneered before turning his face back to the other boy, who looked stricken at the sight of his friend crumpled on the ground. "Your turn. And you will tell me how you got your power and give it to me!"

He dashed forward, exchanging blows with the boy again. His strange fighting style was effectively shutting him down, even if the tiny boy's blows didn't cause much damage.

Yugi nearly cried as he watched Joey sling his insults at this boy who had attacked them. His arms were hurting as was his torso from the other's blows, and he wasn't even sure if he had caused any damage to the other himself. Yami had returned to his soul room for some well deserved rest, so Yugi had no intention of calling him out. Besides, he couldn't have the Pharaoh fighting all of his fights for him.

The color drained from his face as he saw Joey get punched and fall to the ground unconscious. He suppressed his shaking when the boy turned to him with anger and rage building in his eyes. And he felt a familiar calm after the boy spoke. *So he's just another bad guy after our power. I guess they'll pop up everywhere I go.*

With a sigh, Yugi prepared himself as the other blitzed toward him. They began to trade blows, and the small teen was beginning to get worn down. So, in an attempt to get the upper hand, he jumped away from the other teen and summoned up his light chakra. By that time it had become as engrained within him as his Shadow Magic was and just as easy to call out. He didn't need hand signs, there were no actual jutsu for him to use as of yet; they were still working on modifying some for him. Due to that, Yugi summoned it as a ball of energy, not quite like Jiraiya's Rasengan but not too different either. The ninja blitzed in again only to be blasted back by the chakra ball.

"Guys, go get the others! I really don't think this guy is supposed to be here!" Yugi cried out the moment the other boy flew backwards.

He saw Hinata and Serenity nod before running off. Neji had rushed over and was moving Joey away from the fighting. The pale eyed boy shouted out to Yugi, "That's Sasuke Uchiha! The child's who clan house you scanned! He's the younger brother; the one Naruto is looking to help!"

Yugi nodded while not taking his eyes off Sasuke. The black haired boy regained his footing before again shooting a glare toward the tiny teen. "So you've been to my house? Like what you found? Like the sight of the blood, of the death my brother left in his wake? I want your power to avenge my clan, to kill my brother, and I will kill you to obtain it if I must. Someone as weak as you doesn't deserve to use unheard of chakra or have the reserves you have or that special power you have. You will tell me how I can obtain it and if it's not something easily found, I'll just rip it from your dead body with my Sharingan!"

By the end of his speech he was beginning to sound a bit insane, but this wasn't something that overly worried Yugi. He had fought and dealt with the pain Malik inflicted, so one power-crazed revenge-led boy wasn't that big of a deal. Of course, that was before the boy began to breathe heavily and a strange pattern of black splotches began to spread across his body. Yugi could feel the dark energy surrounding the other as it came off in waves. A burst of speed erupted from the infected boy causing Yugi to yelp out in surprise and subconsciously call out his shield. While the barrier was still up Yugi cried out, "Spell Binding Circle!"

A strange golden Egyptian circle erupted from the ground under Sasuke's feet, capturing him within its powerful hold. It would only be a moment of reprieve, but it would be enough. Yugi then called out for Miroku, the Chaos Mage, to help him. The insane and angry look intensified within Sasuke's eyes at the display of power. Suddenly he began to change again and, in the process, shattered the Spell Binding Circle. He rose into the sky on hand-shaped wings, his body now grey. A series of hand signs which Yugi recognized as a jutsu Joey was learning brought out a large chain of fire balls. The mage and Game King dodged as best they could, Yugi's pants getting scorched at the bottom. The intense heat caused him to cry out in pain. Miroku shot out a Chaos Scepter Blast at the flying boy while Yugi charged another light chakra blast following up with one of darkness chakra. "We have to find the source of the darkness around him. It'll be the only way we can defeat him, Miroku. Can you pinpoint it while I try to keep him distracted?"

At the mage's nod and wish for him to be careful, Yugi headed directly back into battle. More blasts were traded, and Yugi had a feeling that it would only end with him cleansing Sasuke with the use of Bakura's powers.

The boy began to shift again, just as the others were arriving. Yugi could hear Sakura cry out the other's name in surprise as Tsunade called out his own name along with their 3 senseis. "My King, the evil is coming from his left shoulder; that is the center. You must destroy the seal that is there, or this will continue to escalate." Miroku informed him.

Yugi nodded that he had heard him. When the other boy landed due to his wings reabsorbing, the young gamer ran forward. He could hear the others warning him to stop, but he had to continue. This boy deserved to know the truth about his family; he needed to be opened to a new path, one Joey could show him with his powers once they were awakened. The new and last transformation hadn't finished when Yugi had reached his destination, Eye of Ra ablaze upon his forehead and Shadow Magic crackling over his cupped hand. With a surprising burst of speed, the duelist was restraining the ninja with Chained Energy and slamming his magic laden hand down on the cursed seal. The Shadow Magic fought violently against the vile magical poison coursing through the mark. After what seemed like hours, both boys began to scream in agony. Yugi's magic flared with a sharp tang of black electricity. Miroku vanished almost instantly, and both boys crumbled to the ground, the energy binding magic card dissipating.

The group ran to the fallen fighters after a moment of being frozen in shock, the larger number going to Yugi's side. Serenity held the boy's head in her lap while Tsunade ran a full body scan, and Hinata quickly checked his chakra levels. "He's exhausted, but he'll live. He's actually fine, but his muscles will be sore if he wakes up anytime soon, which at this point I doubt. How are his chakra levels, Hinata?"

"He's a bit low, but not to a dangerous level. With a little rest, he'll be fine in that area as well." The shy girl informed them all.

Meanwhile, Sakura had been doing her own scan of Sasuke, making sure he was healthy. What she found was disturbing. Due to changing through all the levels of the Cursed Mark in that short of time, he had done extensive damage to his body. Having the poisoned chakra stripped from his body probably hadn't helped, but the extent of the damage was caused by his own blind ambition, one that she and the others had tried to curb him from. "You've finally broken yourself haven't you, Sasuke? You drove yourself to the very brink of sanity and seeing a small boy like Yugi have a special power that you couldn't shoved you over the cliff didn't it? Maybe this boy you just tried to kill and his friends can forgive you enough to set you back on the right path. You certainly can't go back to the Oto now. You won't be of any use anymore."

She stood and reported to Tsunade her findings before going over to the blonde Neji had been protecting. "What happened with Joey, Neji?"

"He broke out of Sasuke's Tsukiyomi." Was her answer causing her and all who heard and understood the meaning to freeze, and their eyes to widen.

"How is that possible?" Jiraiya's voice was soft, almost a whisper.

The answer came from Serenity, her tone just as gentle. "Joey has an amazing will power. He fought off the powers of the Millennium Rod that Marik used to control his mind. He's also fought back the Shadow Realm and kept it from consuming his soul after he lost his shadow duel against Malik, Marik's evil case of schizophrenia. He also has his own Shadow Magic awakened, and even though he can't fully control it, it won't let him be defeated with mind games."

They were all quite for a moment, before Tsunade began ordering all of them to take the fallen to the hospital where they could get proper rest. Sasuke was going to be put under ANBU watch while Yugi was going to have all the senseis watching over him on the outside and Atem on the inside. The smaller of the two was going to be trained by the darkness while asleep.

They were all going to be sleeping for a while, each having reached a different level of exhaustion. Serenity continued to train, and after a few days, nearly a week, Joey awoke. The two worked together on calling up their Shadow magic; they both wanted Yugi to be surprised at their progress while his body built itself back up. They got words of worry and support from their friends back in their world and swore to pass them on to Yugi once he was awake.

The entire time the small boy was restfully sleeping his muscles were hardening due to the training he was getting within Atem's soul room. He was perfecting the last of his fighting style while also going over his healing magic, something that he was using on himself to help his body regenerate its strength faster. He was a long way from meeting his full potential, but he couldn't make himself be upset about that fact. The longer it took him to master something, the longer his Yami got to stay with him again, so he was willing to be nit-picky. After a training session, the two would retire to Yugi's soul room and chat or play games for a while before going back to training.

At the week and a half mark, Yugi's eyes opened to see Serenity and Joey sitting in a couple of chairs in the room, both falling asleep. He smiled at the sight. "Hey, guys." Came his quiet and slightly scratchy voice.

Both were wide awake instantly and Joey ran off to get Tsunade. "How do you feel, Yugi?" Serenity asked with relief in her voice.

"Perfectly fine. I've been training with Atem this entire time. I've almost fully mastered my martial arts and sword skills. I've also nearly mastered my healing magic, and I've been working on Bakura's location skills. So far, I've been doing fairly well. In a few days I think we can go and try to find Naruto and Gaara." Yugi answered after asking for a drink of water.

"I'm glad to hear that. Now would you please excuse me for a moment, Serenity? I need to do a few tests and ask Yugi a few questions." Tsunade interrupted.

The girl nodded before smiling at the boy and heading out of the room to join her brother.

Tsunade silently began to scan the boy. Once done she took a few notes on the chart she held for him and nodded at her work. The gamer sat waiting for her questions that never came. He was beginning to become nervous when she finally spoke up. "What happened out there? How were you able to defeat Sasuke in his Curse Mark mode level 3 and even remove the mark itself?"

Yugi was quiet for a moment, deciding how to explain the fight. He gave her a basic play-by-play before divulging the information about the ending sequence. "I asked Miroku to pinpoint the source of the darkness that was controlling Sasuke. I kept him back after he transformed with my light chakra and dark chakra until he could use his abilities as a chaos mage to find its origin. When Miroku did, he told me, and I went in. I'm new at using the magic of the Millennium Ring, but I tried to use its power of drawing out a life-force from a being. This, of course, also means an evil but outside influence. I didn't fully know what I was doing, so I wasted a lot of energy. I was able to help him though right?"

Tsunade nodded, her look calculating. "Yes, you were able to help him. He's in another room being watched heavily by ANBU as he is a criminal. Will you be ready by the end of this week to begin the search for Naruto and Gaara?" At Yugi's nod, she continued. "Alright then. You will have 4 days to make sure you and the others are up to par and prepared. Rest of now and tomorrow you will begin assessment and preparations."

"Yes, ma-am." Yugi smiled.

Tsunade nodded at his acknowledgement before leaving the room, allowing the boy's friends to return. She stood in the door watching their interaction. She observed as Joey ruffled the boy's hair telling him how worried they had been, but how much they had increased in skills while he was sleeping. She looked on as Serenity leaned in and kissed the boy's cheek while telling him not to do something as reckless as that again, but not getting an agreeing answer just as she expected. The older woman could tell it would be ignorant to try and dissuade a boy like Yugi, someone used to protecting the few that acknowledge him as who he is. In front of her was the only way to save the future of her village. She hated to set such a big task on the thin shoulders of the three, but without them those missing in the darkness with no light in sight would stay lost and chaos would reign at the hands of the snake over all the Elemental Nations. They had to come out on top, otherwise all would be lost. Tsunade heard someone walk up behind her so she turned to see who it was, too weary to even check for a signature.

Her eyes fell upon Hiashi, Jiraiya, and Iruka. "He's a strong boy. When are they leaving out?" Spoke up the first.

"In 4 days. Yugi believes he will be ready by then. He believes they'll all be ready." She answered.

"Then have faith in them. I'll let Iruka go with them. He'll have an easier time convincing Naruto they are legit." Jiraiya commented with Iruka nodding his support.

"Alright. Then start preparing. I'm not sure what kind of battle may be looming with the Akatsuki still on the hunt. We must be ready, especially with the snake also on the loose." Tsunade dismissed the group, who stepped inside to check up on the gentle boy. She smiled at the way he greeted them—all smiles and a chipper tone—and walked down the hall. Yugi was awake; it was time for her to rest.

A/N: **Ok, so I said I was going to explain why I said God sent Yami back. If you don't care my reasoning, then please feel free to ignore my following word vomit.**( And please, if you read it, don't flame me…It's your own fault for reading my dribble, not mine ^_^) Yes, I do realize that our fave Pharaoh is Egyptian, and ancient Egyptian at that. I have a couple of reasons, other than my own faith (which I ask no one to criticize, please). One is that I was reading a book on Ancient Egypt and it said that one of the Pharaoh's asked his people to renounce their many gods and take up one, named Aten, who was to be represented by a symbol, not an animal. I find a lot of similarities between this Pharaoh, Aten, and Atem. This Pharaoh, I believe, never had his name recorded and only ruled for a few years. Aten was a god that stood alone with just a symbol to represent him. Atem never had his name recorded (it was erased from history), he only ruled for a very short period of time, he took the world's safety upon his own shoulders (even if he did share the burden, though unwillingly), and the only thing left from his past was a single puzzle. I'm sure this is a case of someone knowing just enough information to cause damage, but it fits for me. The other is that I can't see Atem coming to the modern world and leaving without some exposure to the Christian God, the one true God. I'm not saying that the gang is Christian by any means, but I like to think of them that way. Any of you, who want to think they are Buddhists, or any other religion, please be my guest. I also have a feeling that the statement there feels kinda like a cope out, but…lol

For those that wanted Yami back, here you go. For those that didn't, it's temporary, and he won't take the spot light. Also, I did the tackle glomp like you were saying would be cute (and I had agreed with you), you know who you are (my e-mail is currently not nice, so I can't look up the commenter's specific name T_T I'm sorry!). I couldn't resist!

Sasuke is out of the darkness, but not the woods. I'm trying to figure out where to go with that from here, other than the obvious of having Joey shove words, fists, and directions down his throat (you know he would ^_^). Itachi and Kisame will hide out until they bring Naruto back, mainly because of timing with them arriving and Yugi and the gang leaving.

**Well, enough of my babbling. I hope you guys enjoyed! **


	11. Ch 11 Lost and Found

A/N: Oh wow! I am so sorry it's been over a year since I was able to finally finish this chapter! It did NOT want to end! At the last count it is 43 pages long. I hope that makes up for the fact this has been so long coming. As always, let me know what you think and if there is anything I need to fix up! Oh, I'm still thinking about the "Yami summoning" thing, but I do agree with those of you that pointed out how unlikely it would be for Bakura and Malik to actually obey Yugi. We'll see I guess.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or Naruto! They have their own rightful awesome creators.

Chapter 11: Lost and Found

The four days passed quickly as the three prepared for the mission and built upon what they had been learning. Yugi was happily surprised by how much his two friends had advanced in the short time he had been 'resting.' However, he wasn't too thrilled with how exhausted Joey had made himself each day to reach that level of improvement.

They were preparing what last minute items they needed before meeting up with Iruka at the village gate. Their plan was to travel out of the village so that Yugi could more easily tap into the location power of the Ring. Hopefully it wouldn't take more than a couple of weeks, but they were prepared for longer.

Once fully packed, the friends headed out. "Ready for this, Yug?" Joey asked.

"More or less. At the very least, we can finish this part of our mission. After that, we'll see. I really don't like the idea of just up and leaving. Remember how Tsunade-sama made the comment that there was a 'snake' causing them problems? Jiraiya also mumbled something about men with giant snakes destroying everything before they take over the world."

"He did? When was that?" Joey worked through his memories over the past month or so, but just couldn't recall that event.

"Yeah. He said it when you were talking about Dartz and the Leviathan. From what Neji told me, it's the same guy that branded Sasuke with the seal I removed."

"That means we really need to be careful around him. If he brands one of us, he could use us against the others." Joey worried.

"Actually, our Shadow Magic won't allow that to happen. After the incident with the Orichalcos, it's much harder for us to be overcome. It was something that had Atem and I worried, mainly because of that incident. We're immune to it all, especially since I've already had the Shadows in contact with the dark chakra." Yugi informed him.

"We should probably help with that Akatsuki as well. I mean, if we don't this will happen all over again. They're the reason we were brought here in the first place. If they aren't stopped, they'll keep hurting people as well." Serenity commented.

Yugi and Joey nodded in agreement. The three continued on, walking towards the village gate in silence. Once the gate came into view, they noticed a group of people gathered around. The friends, as they got closer, realized it was their sensei-s and Tsunade waiting for them.

"Are we late?" Joey questioned when they were in speaking range.

"No. We usually come and see off important missions, unless there is a need for immediate leave." Tsunade explained.

Yugi nodded in understanding. "So, I think we have everything."

The blonde woman smiled at the three. In the short month or so they had been in this world, they had really grown and gotten stronger. She knew in her heart it was the right choice to bring them there. They would help save this village and others from the catastrophe awaiting. She had faith in them. Goodbyes were said and the group was on its way.

Once Iruka felt he had guided the team of teens far enough into the forest surrounding the large village to decrease the energy profiles left behind by Naruto, he stopped them and nodded to Yugi.

The small teen acknowledged the man's cue and began to concentrate. Moments later the Eye of Ra began to glow on the boy's forehead. Yugi scanned the headband in his hand. Iruka explained that it had originally been his own, but he had given it to Naruto the day the boy graduated from the academy. The younger ninja had worn it until it had been nearly irreparably broken. Yugi untwined Iruka's signature from Naruto's and studied the latter. He sent out his Shadow Magic, controlled by the Ring at the moment, to sense out the other's energy. Soon he was calling to the others to follow him as he began to run in the direction the Ring was pulling him.

The others ran after him, working to keep up. "Hey, Yug, can we not have the break-neck chase like with Ryou in the underground maze at Pegsy's?" Joey called out after a few minutes. He could remember the sharp turns and near falling on concrete and cobblestone. It wasn't something he wanted to repeat, even if the concrete and cobblestones were replaced with dirt and trees. It could still be painful!

"Sorry, Joey. I understand now why Ryou was running like he was. The power of the Ring literally drags you along. It feels like I'll fall if I stop or slow down." Yugi explained.

"Well then, let's just keep up our awareness and add a little chakra to our legs to run faster." Iruka ordered.

The other two complied; Joey doing so with a sigh. As they continued on, Iruka made the mental note that they were headed toward water. More specifically, they were headed to large bridge to a small village. When he determined Yugi wasn't veering anytime soon, he decided to bring it up. "Yugi, are you sure this is the way we're supposed to go? Are there any stronger signals going somewhere else?"

"Yes, sir, I'm sure. This is the strongest signal. The Ring is pulling me toward a beacon somewhere ahead of us. It doesn't work on small signatures that are floating in the air, as Neji explained how his Byakugan worked. The Ring's power is to pinpoint the person or object emitting the signal. I wanted to get away from Konoha because I'm still new at this, and I didn't want there to be a possibility of residual interference. I'm not the original owner of the Ring—there's been three—so I was worried it may be temperamental. Why? Is this headed into an enemy's territory or something?" Yugi clarified.

"Well, no. There aren't any Konoha enemy territories nearby, but Naruto has been here before. There is a tiny fishing village he helped a few years ago in this direction, and he's visited a few times since. The first time he was there he used his own special powers to protect his friends and the village's bridge builder from an extremely powerful threat. I thought you may have been zeroing in on that energy source still embedded within the structure of the bridge." Iruka was still a bit uncertain.

"Oh, a signal from that many years ago would have a weakened beacon. I'm concentrating on the strong pulsating one ahead. Ryou told me that was the living energy source. It was the same he felt when he first met me and while tracking Pegasus' Millennium Eye in the catacombs." Yugi explained.

"Well, if that is where we are headed, it should take us a week or so to reach the village." Iruka told them.

It was a couple more hours before they decided to take a break for lunch. It was a short break, but there was less time between it and the stop for the night. This continued for the next couple of days. The fourth day started out much the same as the others; however, it wasn't to end that way.

Just before the group stopped for lunch the kunai began to fly, one narrowly missing Joey's head. Instantly the group dropped into defensive stances. Yugi drove his Shadow Magic from the Ring's power and focused it as a shield around the team.

"Come on out! We know you're there!" Iruka called out.

"Even though it's extremely clichéd, why not?" Came a voice from within the forest.

Suddenly three ninja appeared: two males and one female. The headbands were plated with musical notes. Iruka slowly moved in front of the small group. "They are Oto ninja. Orochimaru is their leader—the one that marked Sasuke. Oto is the village he defected to. Be careful. Their power is to manipulate sound waves to ultrasonic pitch. Lee has gone temporarily deaf while fighting Oto shinobi. Your eardrums are not the only things in danger. The sound waves can be used as weaponry as well, causing other wounds due to compression of the air. They also have the same skills as any ninja."

"Guys, get the earplugs." Yugi directed.

The smaller boy still had the shield up, protecting them. Each brought out small foam-like devices which they placed in their ears. Iruka and the other ninja watched in confusion even as Serenity walked up to the Chunin, handing him a pair.

"They dampen loud sounds. It should protect our hearing." The girl explained.

Iruka looked doubtful. How was something made of foam supposed to protect their hearing from Oto ninja? And how did they know to make them and bring them? The latter he asked as they began sizing up the three across from them; two of which were eyeing Yugi, most likely due to him being so small and seemingly weak.

"Oh, I had a couple summons visit Sasuke. I figured he would need someone to talk to. Anyway, Atem and I also went a few times while he was sleeping. We talked about things that went on while he was in Oto. He told us about the Sound ninja's abilities. So we figured earplugs would be the best thing to use, it helps in the large factories and such at home." Yugi continued.

Iruka just shook his head. Of course this boy would do something like that. They continued to prepare for battle.

"Whatever, let's just get this over with. Orochimaru wants you to come with us, dead or alive, for some research and information gathering." The enemy group leader's voice took on an invitational tone.

"In other words, your boss-man wants to turn us into little lab rats and freaks for his amusement and gain." Joey popped up.

"Well, if you put it like that it sounds so much worse than what it is. How about we give you a demonstration of the power you could be given if you would follow us?" The girl spoke up.

She took a deep breath before letting it out in an ear piercing screech. The duelists were thankful for the heads up from Sasuke, and Iruka was grateful for the forethought the three had with the earplugs. Yugi looked toward his friends, and the other two nodded. It was time to fight.

Yugi took his Egyptian fighting stance, his light and dark chakra swirling around each hand as if two well acquainted partners. Atem stood at the ready. Only if Yugi or the either of the others were about to be killed could he join the melee. Joey slid into his street-fighter/martial arts stance, prepared to summon monster or magic. Serenity fell into the Iron Fist stance she had been drilled on these past few weeks. She wasn't as proficient as the others, but she prided herself on being a quick learner. Yugi was happy to note the confusion on the enemy ninja's faces at the sight of their strange fighting stances, well his and Joey's anyway.

The tri-haired boy let down the barrier surrounding his group and the battle began. While their ears were indeed protected, the same couldn't be said of the rest of their bodies. It was difficult dealing with weapons you couldn't see, especially when they are all around you and can be made by air compression. Yugi switched between throwing chakra blasts and Shadow magic at his opponent—the leader of the other group. Iruka jumped between each set of opponents, trying to keep the Sound ninja off guard enough so the duelists could get an upper hand. Yugi wracked his brain while fighting his hardest, trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly an image of Joey's duel with Espa Roba flashed before him. He had trained enough to be able to easily summon a level four monster. He maneuvered his fight closer to Joey's, and when they were close enough together he called out to his friend," Joey, cover me, please! I have an idea!"

The blonde nodded and called out to Junpei for help. The swordsman came forward and with a short warning from Joey, set to attacking with his Salmandra Strike from a distance while protecting both Joey and Yugi. Yugi stood back, the Eye appearing on his forehead. "I summon Reflect Bounder!" Yugi cried out.

Instantly the mirror clad monster appeared. It took its place between the two sets of fighters. The Sound ninja began to laugh at the mirror wearing clown-like creature. The leader shot out his hand, a blade-like wave blasting towards Reflect Bounder. When the sound wave attack hit the summons, it doubled over as if in pain before straightening up quickly and shooting the attack back. The speed increased double as it slammed back into the original sender. The leader was now sliced up and bleeding from both his wounds and his ears due to the bursting of his eardrums. "Gravity Bind!" Yugi activated the magic card.

A set of glowing strings shot from the ground and clamped around the injured ninja, inhibiting his movement and plastering him to the ground through the force of gravity.

"Well, that's one. Now let's get the others" Joey smirked.

Seeing their leader taken down by his own attack, the remaining two fighters became more cautious of the monster. They began throwing normal chakra attacks and weapons while implementing hand-to-hand combat. The kunai and shuriken began to do damage to the light attribute monster. Its mirrors were breaking, and Yugi could sense the creature's attack points and spirit energy dropping. The young teen knew he would soon have to release Reflect Bounder before it was destroyed.

Joey noticed it as well. He wracked his brain to figure out something that could be used to stop those two. As he was thinking, Iruka was fending off another wave of kunai, and Yugi was shooting his Shadow Magic out to keep the other ninja off balance. Serenity tried to slip them up by using water on the ground to create mud. As the girl began to slip, her arm shot forward in a stabbing motion, reminding Joey of a stance taken by Mahado against one of Mai's trap cards. That memory gave the blonde an idea. "Yug! Call Reflect Bounder back!"

Yugi, giving a short nod of acknowledgement, swept his arm in the direction of the wounded and weakened monster and released it. The Sound ninjas gave each other a silent motion to attack the blonde. Joey had not returned to the battle after Reflect Bounder was brought to the field. Both sent out their most powerful sound attacks. There was nothing to protect the warrior duelist. Junpei and Yugi were too far away, and Iruka couldn't get out a protective jutsu quickly enough. Joey was going to be ripped apart by sound. Just before the blasts hit, Joey cried out, "Mirror Wall!"

Instantly a giant rainbow colored mirror appeared in front of Joey, throwing the attacks back at both ninja. The returned assault worked just as it did in a duel. The strength was halved even as it was sent back, but it heavily weakened both enemies. This weakening gave Yugi an opening, "Gravity Bind!"

The two were slammed into the ground, knocked unconscious. With that, the group from Konoha gave a sigh of relief. "First, Joey, never do that again without letting me know you have an idea. You nearly scared me to death. Second, what are we going to do with these three?" Yugi spoke up.

"We need to get them back to the village, but the real question is how." Iruka commented.

"Well, Joey and I can summon a couple of dragons to transport them back." Yugi offered.

"I suppose that would work. However, I don't think they'll be going very willingly. They'll try to attack them." Iruka rationalized.

"Not if I do this: Energy Drain!" Yugi called. A ball of Shadow Magic hovered over each wounded ninja, pulling both life energy and chakra away until the leader fainted as well. "Alright, Joey, let's call them out."

Joey nodded. Both concentrated before calling out their respective dragons. "Hatori!" "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!"

Both dragons appeared, awaiting instruction. "Could you two take them to Konoha? Iruka-sensei is writing an explanation letter to Tsunade-sama." Yugi explained.

The dragons nodded, Hatori took the letter, both grabbed members of the enemy ninja, and they took flight.

Once they were sure the two dragons would be fine, the small group headed out once again. However, it was only a couple of hours later that Yugi became overwhelmed and could no longer go on. The battle coupled with dividing his concentration between the Ring and his dragon drained him quickly. Joey was feeling some fatigue as well. Iruka scouted out a good area for the night, and they were soon eating and falling asleep. Serenity offered to be the night watch, but Iruka wasn't having it. He insisted she get rest, and so she did.

The next morning, Yugi informed the elder ninja that the two dragons had arrived with no problems, and the three were taken into custody. After a slow breakfast, the group returned to their journey. The next few days of their trek were fortunately uneventful. When a full week had passed after the initial departure, they came upon a large well built bridge. Joey read the dedication plaque for the others to hear, "The Great Naruto Bridge, named for the one who returned hope to a desolate village."

"Wow," Yugi breathed. "He had quite the impact."

Iruka nodded. "He did. The entire village greatly respects him and will do all in their power to protect him."

They began to cross the bridge when suddenly the mist in the air began to thicken and cool. It was beginning to become difficult to breathe for the group. Serenity began to hear coughing and gasping coming from the direction Yugi was walking. She called his name, a hint of worry seeded into her voice. This alerted the other two to the noise. The gasping became more fevered as the seconds rolled by.

Joey rushed to his best friend's side, beating even Iruka who had been standing relatively close to the boy. The air was much colder around the small duelist, and the mist was even thicker. When Joey reached him, the younger boy had collapsed; even the Eye blazing upon his forehead was not helping. The blonde pulled the amethyst eyed boy into his lap and immediately saw that his lips were turning blue, and his eyes were hazy. The little one was suffocating.

The golden eyed teen heard his little sister gasp and felt Iruka's presence at his side. Serenity rushed over after a few moments, tears in her eyes and the Eye of Ra on her forehead. "We have to get someone to call off the guardians, or Yugi's going to die!" She cried.

"How do you know, Serenity?" Iruka asked calmly, hoping she was just jumping to conclusions.

"I awoke my abilities from the Necklace. It showed me Yugi suffocating to death and a little boy saying he would have been saved if someone had calmed the village's guardians. They are on high alert since Akatsuki members were hanging around not too long ago." The girl quickly spurted out.

The brown haired teacher's heart sunk. He kept reminding himself that the Necklace showed only a possible future, not one set in stone; it wasn't helping. He stood and walked forward a few paces. There was part of the explanation that made sense and helped with the idea of Naruto being in this village. However, why was only Yugi being targeted while he himself was the more experienced? "Hey! Is there a watchman?! We need help! We're ninja from Konoha!" The young man called out.

He heard what he thought was his name before a figure came bolting toward him. Before he could get into a defensive stance, arms were encompassing him and deep sniffs of his neck-line were being taken. Then he could make out the wild blonde hair of the boy he had always felt was his son. He hugged the boy back before saying, "We were so worried about you, Naruto. Tsunade-sama even got help to find you." This thought caused the elder to stiffen. Before Naruto could ask if his father figure was ok, the man was speaking, "Can you call off the village guardians? They are about to kill a small boy, one of the group Tsunade-sama called to help."

The blonde nodded, but was suspicious as to why the boy was attacked. He couldn't be as innocent as Iruka was making him out to be. "Haku, Zabuza, please back down. They can pass."

Slowly the mist and cold dissipated. Yugi's breathing was still labored, but he had begun to get his true color back immediately. The extent of torture the two put the—what looked like—child through surprised Naruto. He turned to his sensei as the other teens gathered the boy close, trying to give him warmth. "What did he do to anger them so badly? They never go to that extent to hurt anyone unless they're criminals."

"You said Zabuza is one of them, right?" At Naruto's nod, Iruka continued. "A couple of weeks ago, Yugi, Joey, and Serenity," The man indicating each, "were discovered by the council, namely Danzou. Hiashi-sama tried to smooth things over, but you know how that war-monger is. He wanted those three for himself, to be under his control. When he had his R.O.O.T. ANBU carting Yugi and Joey to his mind erase/loyalty lecture and Serenity off to be forced into having clan-family children, something in Yugi snapped. He called Danzou out, challenging him to a war/chess game where the loser's fate was decided by the winner. They had to summon warriors to fight for them. I had only seen one of Yugi's before, but all of Danzou's were familiar. Zabuza was one of them, but he was defeated early. He may have attacked Yugi thinking Danzou had won and was sending them after you."

Just as Naruto was about to comment, Joey interrupted him. "Hey, Junpei. Could you come out and help us warm Yug up?"

Almost instantly the large swordsman appeared with his sword on fire and holding it close to the small boy, "What happened to our King, Joey?"

"Some guardians decided they didn't want us here, so they decided to take Yugi out as a warning." Joey answered.

"Mahado won't be happy to hear that. But maybe I can put him at ease that our little one is ok or at least will be. He's been pacing since he felt Yugi go down. Once our King is warmed up or gotten inside, I'll go and let him know." Junpei nodded. His eyes were worried as he looked down upon the small boy all the Spirits knew to be their King. He could only imagine what worry their Pharaoh was going through.

Naruto watched them interact. "How did that other one get there? Who is that?"

"He is one of Joey's guards and summons. He's known as a Duel Spirit. His classification is Flame Swordsman, and he's named Junpei. I'm not really sure how much else I can tell you. They've only really uncovered what they can do to their personal instructors and Tsunade-sama. They are good kids and know the meaning of protecting those that you care about. I think you would get along with them very well." Iruka's tone was contemplating. After a few moments, he turned his attention back to the fox-ninja. He had already noted the changes the boy had gone through. At first it had worried him when Kiba told them the fox had started to meld with Naruto, but now, seeing him with his own eyes, he knew the boy was just fine. He motioned for the hyper ninja to follow him. "Is he ok now, Joey?"

"Yeah, I think he'll be fine now with a lot of rest. That attack took a lot out of him. Even with his Shadow Magic, his lungs were nearly frozen." Joey explained.

"I wonder if Chihiro could help him." Serenity spoke up.

Joey shook his head. "I think at this point, he just needs to rest and recharge. We need to get him somewhere he can do that. Besides, I don't want you passing out from exhaustion. You just unlocked one of your powers. Calling Chihiro may send you over the edge."

The girl nodded before noticing the teen standing close to Iruka. "Iruka-sensei, is that who I think it is? Is that Naruto, the one we were looking for?" At Iruka's positive acknowledgement, she smiled weakly before standing and stepping over, hand offered. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm glad we were able to finally find you. There are many at your village that are worried about you and hope you are ok."

Naruto took the girl's hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, too. Iruka-sensei just told me your name is Serenity, right?"

"That's right. And they are Joey, my brother, and Yugi, our best friend." Serenity returned.

"Have your brother bring the kid and follow me. I know where you guys can stay. Gaara and I have been staying here for the past few weeks." Naruto gave a small smile back.

"Alright. Come on, Joey! We have a place to stay so Yugi can rest." Serenity dashed back over to her brother's side.

The Flame Swordsman took the frail-looking boy into his arms, allowing Joey to stand, before handing him back over to his charge. "I need to get back and let Mahado know Yugi is ok. He'll be relieved, but antsy until our King can summon him."

After the Duel Monster returned to their portion of the Shadow Realm, Joey held Yugi closer to his chest. Iruka instantly noticed the protective mistrust written in the boy's golden-brown eyes. He mentally sighed. This was what Jiraiya had told him about. He just hoped his killer intent didn't start flowing; he'd felt that once, and it was unpleasant. Yugi was sleeping soundly in the older boy's arms, head tucked under his chin. His breathing hitched ever so often.

Serenity led the boys after the two ninja. She had noticed the look in her brother's eyes as well. She just hoped he wouldn't cause problems with the ones they were there to help.

Naruto led the group to Tsunami's house and knocked before entering. A young woman stepped out into the living room with a young red-haired teen. "Who is this, Naruto?" She asked.

A little boy came out of another room, all three with suspicion plastered on their faces. "This is Iruka-sensei. Remember he was the one I was telling you about that's like my father. These other three are people Tsunade-sama got to help them find Gaara and me: Yugi, Joey, and Serenity. They need to rest for a while, especially Yugi. He's had a run in with an overprotective Zabuza and Haku."

"Oh dear. Bring him here. He needs to get into a nice warm bed. Inari, sweetie, get my medical kit. Gaara-sama, get some of the leftovers from lunch; I'm sure they are starving. Naruto, set up another couple of cots in your and Gaara's room. Iruka and Joey can stay with you both. Serenity, you can stay with me tonight. I think Yugi there needs to rest in quiet tonight. We may rearrange the sleeping order tomorrow if that's needed." Tsunami began throwing out orders.

Joey followed the woman and laid the small boy down on the cot that had been placed out. He watched over protectively as the woman went to work looking over the younger duelist for any wounds. She treated any she found and was finished shortly. "He'll be fine. Just let him get some sleep, and rest up yourself. He's well protected here, and we won't let anything happen to him. Come get something to eat." Tsunami informed him.

He was hesitant to leave his best friend, but the woman had been right, he was starving. "I'll be back soon, Yugi. Get some sleep until then, little bro." He followed the woman out of the room and into the dining room area where the red-head had laid out the lunch leftovers. The air was heavy with tension as they sat and ate. Joey and Serenity were worried about Yugi while the others, minus Iruka, were worried about the three newcomers.

Before the small meal could get anymore oppressing, Iruka turned to Naruto, "What happened with Akatsuki after you got separated from the others?"

"We fought waves of their drones. They weren't very strong, but it was tough getting through them after having so many attacks. I guess it's true: there's strength in numbers. We beat them into the ground, but they beat us down, too. Eventually it got to the point we were nearly dead. That was when you-know-who gave us an offer for help. After that, we met up with one more group of lackeys before heading into the nearby river. Each night we drug ourselves out, ate a small meal, and rested before heading back in each day. Our injuries kept re-opening, and I had to keep re-breaking my arm because it wasn't healing right. It was another few days of that routine before we took to land for a short distance and found the bridge Tazuna built." The blonde ninja took in the shared glance between the siblings, and the worried look from Iruka.

Naruto went on to explain what he and Gaara had been doing after recovery. Gaara studied the two new comers. There was a darkness radiating from them with the potential to be more powerful than anything he had ever witnessed. Shukaku told him to be careful of them. They seemed to be the protective type, and the blonde to attack at feeling the group was threatened. The red-head could also sense Naruto's unease around them.

When the room returned to being quiet, the silence began to become oppressing once again. Inari, being a curious child, decided to ask Joey and Serenity about themselves. "Where are you guys from? Iruka said you were called to come help find Naruto and Gaara. Did you know each other before you were called? What's it like where you're from?"

Joey chuckled, breaking the tension as Tsunami told her son to stop shoot out questions. "Curious one, ain't ya?" Joey piped up causing the boy to pout. "Actually, we did know each other before hand. Serenity here is my little sister. Yugi is my honorary little brother. We've been best friends since that hall monitor beat our other friend, Tristan, and me nearly to death. Little guy came outta nowhere, told him to stop and leave us, his friends, alone, and stood as a shield against him. Ushio said he didn't understand why Yugi was standing up for us and saying we were his friends. See we bullied him any chance we got. Now I regret everything I did to him and so does Tristan, but Yugi doesn't hold grudges, a very good thing for a lot of people. Let's see, where are we from…That may be hard to answer. We ain't exactly from anywhere near here. Yug and I are from Domino, Japan, and Serenity is from Tokyo, Japan. They are both pretty big cities and are a lot more industrialized that most places we've been here."

"Wait, I thought you were brother and sister. Why aren't you from the same place?" Inari interrupted Naruto who was going to ask about the places they were from.

"Yeah, we are, and Serenity had just recently moved back to Domino. You see, our parents got a divorce, and ma took Serenity to live with her and left me behind to live with our gambling, abusive drunkard of a father. Granted, he's better now, but it used to be bad." Joey quietly answered. Both Naruto and Gaara instantly felt a tie to the boy. He was abandoned by someone who was supposed to love him, and beaten by another. He also apparently began to act out to get attention.

After a few reflective moments Naruto spoke up. "I know I wasn't the greatest student in the academy, but Iruka-sensei and Pervy Sage [Joey snorted in laughter] did teach me what and where countries are, and I've never heard of either one. How were you called?"

Joey started to calm his laughing, all the tension in the room melting away. "Wow that's awesome. I'm guessing that's your nickname for Jiraiya. Tsunade warned us about how he is. In fact, she put Neji with him so he wouldn't run off on Yugi while training solo. Anyway, yeah, we aren't from this world as Yugi put it. Apparently, Jiraiya and Kakashi used some jutsu to bring us here. That was also when we met Hinata, your leader, and Shizune. The main reason we stayed to help was Hinata. She begged us to help the both of you. The others were asking as well, but she was much more, let's say, convincing.

"What jutsu could they have possibly used?" Gaara's quiet voice spoke up.

Iruka was the one to answer that question. "The Other World Jutsu. They made sure to have mental specifics to make sure things didn't go wrong again. Shortly after, these three were summoned with their special powers. They were tested, and then Lady Tsunade gave them trainers. Hinata works with Serenity, Yugi has Neji and Jiraiya, and Joey has Gai."

"I bet Hinata's doing a great job with you, Serenity. She's awesome and a great teacher. She's also super nice and has a huge amount of patience. She's really great to work with. If Pervy Sage's mind stays out of the gutter, he's a strong teacher and can really help you to get stronger. Neji is a good friend now that he's got the stick out of his butt. [Again Joey snorted out a laugh.] With his Byakugan, he can really help with chakra usage and understanding its flow. But, Joey, I'm sorry you have Gai-sensei. He's great with taijutsu, but he can just get on your nerves so easily and quickly. This is coming from the biggest and loudest prankster in the village. Why didn't you get Kakashi-sensei? He can be lazy, but he's been a good friend to me and has watched over me for a long time. I bet he would do a lot for you." Naruto popped up.

"Actually, Kakashi was going to be my sensei, but a problem came up." Joey confessed.

"A mission?" Naruto inquired.

"He won't be on any missions unless dire need for a couple more weeks, Naruto." Iruka broke in. He could tell Joey was uncomfortable with telling the other blonde what had happened.

"What do you mean, dad? Is Kakashi-sensei sick or hurt?" The blonde ninja was getting worried.

"No, not exactly. I think the only times he's been injured was when I punched him in the solar plexis, and then when Lady Tsunade punished him." At seeing Naruto's shocked face he continued, "He and Joey sparred. After returning to the house these three are staying in, they began to talk. Joey brought up his quality of life, and Kakashi took it too personally. One of Joey's special abilities is to read a person's heart and spirit. He pointed out things that made Kakashi feel open, and he became defensive saying Joey was questioning his loyalty to the village."

"All I said was that he should be fighting harder to get someone he cared about back. He said everyone he loved was dead, and he didn't feel he was really a major part of the team he led, that they all had someone else to get help from. And I'm sorry to say, he thought it may be better for you, Naruto, to be left alone to come back on your own since you were with Gaara—someone he said had a similar past as you." Joey explained.

Iruka continued. "Kakashi snapped and attacked Joey. If Yugi and I hadn't shown up when we did, he would have slit Joey's throat. He already had the kunai against Joey's throat and had already started cutting. I thought Yugi was going to crush Kakashi's hand with one of his special abilities. That was a couple of months ago. I sent him straight to Tsunade-sama, and she was not happy as I'm sure you can imagine."

Naruto lowered his head, his face covered by his hair, but Iruka knew the boy, and Gaara could smell the tears that fell. Slowly, the boy stood. With a watery voice, the teen said, "I'll be back in a bit. I need some time to think." The fox-boy walked out of the house, Iruka and Tsunami calling out to him.

The tanned man stood, but Joey stopped him. "I'll go talk to him. I was the one who had the conversation with Kakashi, so I think I can make him understand the context a little better. I have an idea to how he took all this. The Key's giving me a push."

When the blonde duelist left out, the room became quiet again. Serenity stood, shyly saying she was going to check on Yugi. Gaara decided to follow, partly because he was curious about the boy he only got a glimpse of, and partly to keep an eye on the dark power making the tanuki demon within him so nervous.

Serenity felt the boy following her, so she stopped and smiled at him. "Come to keep me company?"

The red-head was mildly surprised she knew he was there, but shook it off quickly and nodded. "Your brother and you seem interesting and have had a tough life." He pointed out.

Serenity shrugged. "I suppose, but I'm not so sure we are the only ones. Naruto and you have had it bad too, huh? Of course, that idea is from hearsay. Anyway, you are from Suna, a desert village?" At Gaara's nod, Serenity smiled again. "I bet Yugi and Atem would love to visit. Atem was from a place much like that, and that gives Yugi a special tie to Egypt."

The two had only walked a few steps before Serenity felt her foot catch on a loose floor board. *How stereotypical…*came the only thought from the girl as she prepared for contact with the hard wood flooring.

The girl tensed, preparing to hit the ground, but after a second, she realized two arms were gently wrapped around her. She raised her head to look up at the taller red-head, their eyes meeting. The girl was still panicky and the second their eyes met, the Eye of Ra began to glow upon her forehead. Instantly, the two found themselves floating above a desert village.

"Suna," Gaara breathed. "Why are we here?"

"This is your home?" Serenity glanced over at the teen. "It's beautiful. We are going to have to set up a time to visit here. Yugi would love it."

Suddenly, a scream pierced the calm quiet that had settled between the two. Both glanced at one another before quickly flying in the direction of the pain filled scream. Gaara took the lead after Serenity told him how to fly as she had learned from Yugi.

Soon they found themselves at what Gaara informed her was the Kazekage's tower. The scream had been female and that caused him to fear for his sister, Temari. They flew through the window the scream had exited to find a middle aged woman in the latter stages of labor, runes written both on her and all over the room. What worried Serenity most was that the woman was all alone. *Shouldn't family or at least a nurse be here to help and comfort her?*

Gaara wasn't as surprised. He had spied a calendar telling him the date: the cursed day of his birth. What did astonish him was the woman herself. Even with her face contorted in agony and sweat soaking her skin, she was beautiful in his eyes and had a gentleness that he hadn't expected. "Mother…," slipped through the boy's lips.

Serenity looked over at the boy before returning to the scene unfolding before them. The woman curled around her swollen belly, being sure she would deliver her baby safely on the bed. She pushed and manipulated her child until he slid from the birth canal, her screams bouncing off wall. She fell back in exhaustion, but only for a moment. She reached over to the bedside table and picked up a kunai before gently cutting the umbilical cord. She scooped her tiny baby into her arms; Serenity now realizing who the infant was. The woman held the baby close as he began to cry. She leaned down and kissed his forehead in the exact spot he would later carve the symbol for love. Suddenly, sand began to flood in as the baby boy took a nap. A seal started to glow on his tiny torso as the sand began to crawl up the woman. She seemed to understand what it meant. "You demon, my precious baby boy will someday tame you. He will grow to be an incredible ninja despite you, my husband, or this village. He won't be the cold blooded killer you are, Shukaku, and he will learn to save and protect those he cares about and care about him. My sweet little baby, I love you, and I have faith in you. Don't become the weapon your father and the council want you to be. Please be the type that can think on their own and become strong on your own, not with the help of this demon sealed within you during your development. I may have been forced to become pregnant with you, but I love you with all my heart."

By then the sand had covered the woman, only her arms clutching her infant was clear. The seal flashed red, and the woman cried out a blood curdling scream. When the sand receded, forming into a gourd shape and resting in a corner, Serenity saw that the poor woman had been crushed to death. The baby began to wail, as if he sensed his mother's demise.

A group of ninja and a robed man slipped into the room. One of the ninja handed the crying infant off to the cloaked one. "So my son has already proven he is a pure killer. Let's see how we can manipulate this." He paused for only a moment before heading into a speech to his crying child, telling him that he was a demon that lived only for its self and would forever be hated and meant only for slaughter. He would be isolated from everyone and learn to hate all and love only himself. He then named the baby: Gaara.

After that other scenes began to flash in front of the two: the way the villagers threw things at him when he was a toddler, the way they ran in fear as he grew older, his failed attempts at making friends as the children ran, his own siblings fearing him, the betrayal of his dear uncle, the point the boy locked away his heart so he wouldn't hurt any longer, the psychotic killing spree he went on until the fateful day he met Naruto, the utter defeat he was handed, and finally the change back to the kindness he once showed that was reflected by the villagers even though he still held the blank stoic look. As the vision faded, both found themselves kneeling on the ground.

Serenity slowly looked at the boy, tears flowing down her face. Her heart ached for the teen. She began to shift in the boy's arms—they were still in the same basic position as they had been when he caught her.

When the girl began to shift, Gaara's first thought was that she was afraid of him and was trying to get away. However, he was stunned—and glad he had so much control over Shukaku's power—when the girl wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. She muttered that she was sorry he had to go through all of that horrid mistreatment due to his father's greed. She mumbled that she wished she and her friends could have helped him through it all. Eventually, shortly after the boy began to hug her in return, Serenity pulled away a bit. "I agree with your mother, and I know Joey and Yugi would too. The true demon in all I just saw was your father.'

Gaara weakly smiled at her. "Thank you, but I did not follow my mother's last request. I became the mindless killer she did not want me to be."

"That may be, but you saw another path and took it. You are making up for the mistakes forced upon you. It may not be my special ability like it is Joey's, but being nearly blind for most of your life you learn to read people. In you I see a lonely little boy wanting attention and love. You hold the people that treat you as you should—like a human—close to your heart. But because of your past, you're never sure who to trust because your heart has been abused enough. I'm so happy you have people who love you now, and you village respects you. You are finally getting what you deserve."

They sat in silence a few more moments before Gaara hoisted the girl into his arms and walked the remaining few feet to Yugi's room. Once inside he sat her down. The present Kazekage finally got a good look at the boy and couldn't believe the amount of dark power permeating the tiny innocent body. His breaths were still short, and he still shuddered from chill.

Serenity sat close to the boy, gently brushing his limp bangs from his face. "Gaara, I would like you to meet Yugi Mouto, the number one duelist in our world. He's also called the King of Games. He paid for my eye surgery and hospital stay by giving my brother the winnings from his first official tournament. I know you'll like him when he wakes up, and he'll like you. He has such a kind heart, which is why he is a Hikari." Her voice was hushed.

Gaara nodded, listening. For the next while, the two quietly conversed, telling stories of their past.

Meanwhile, Joey walked through the small village, asking around about the other blonde. Eventually, he found him speaking to a set of graves.

"Danzou didn't win, Zabuza. They are here to help Gaara and I home. Though, from what I've been told, my genin sensei doesn't even want me back. I guess it's only Iruka-sensei, Pervy sage, and Granny Tsunadae that want me back. Kakashi-sensei, who I saw as an older brother or uncle even tried to kill one of the ones brought to help me just to keep me away. I suppose I don't have the friends I thought I did…Maybe it's the curse of the fox demon within me…"

"Is it something about your little team that misinterprets everything I say?" Joey stepped forward as Naruto jumped around, kunai in hand. "And why do you guys keep brandishing those things at me?"

Naruto calmed when he realized who it was. "Well, it's not smart to sneak up on a ninja."

Joey shrugged. "The way every ninja is supposed to sense their surroundings, too?"

Naruto looked a bit sheepish before the sadness returned to his eyes. "Maybe that's another reason I'm not really wanted: too unpredictable."

"That'd be better than being boring. Look, it's obvious what was said back there is bothering you, but that's mainly because you took it wrong." Naruto looked up at the blonde speaking. "Kakashi wasn't saying he didn't want you home. He was thinking it may be better on you if you were with someone you cared for, that cared for you, and you both completely understand each other. He thought he had what was best for you in mind. Besides, all the others want you back, too. The main reason we even decided to stay was Hinata." Joey explained.

Naruto turned away from Joey, looking back out at the water. "It doesn't matter. I only have a couple of people that ever cared anyway."

Joey sighed. "And Kaiba thinks I'm dense. Look, that's not the case. They have been sending squad after squad to find you two. When we first got here, Hinata was begging for our help to find you, specifically. She was nearly crying. All those that graduated with you, they want you back. There are a lot from the village that wants you home. A few merchants and some of the council are the odd ones out. Though, I don't think the council will be much of a problem for a while, not after the beating Danzou got from Yug. Besides, we can just drag your butt back."

Naruto turned to Joey. "Hinata really reacted like that? She's actually worried about me?"

"Wow. You mean you've never noticed?" At Naruto's slow shake of his head, Joey continued. "She loves you. Serenity pointed it out just after we met them. According to Ren, Hinata uses you as inspiration for a lot of her training methods, especially with Ren's wind chakra."

Naruto's mouth fell open. He couldn't believe it. Since when did the Hyuuga girl like him, let alone love. Sure, they had gotten closer over the months between his return from training and the separation with Gaara, but still when did she feel like that? He shook his head, clearing his mind. This was something he would think on later. "How did a squirt like Yugi manage to beat Danzou of all people? The man's a war-hardened super strategist."

"Yugi played a Shadow Game with him. No body's ever been able to outsmart Yugi at any game. With a little help from our guardians and the fact that the Shadow Realm shows a person's true self, that Danzou had no chance. The guy tried to cheat, so the Realm punished him. He'll be outta commission for a while." Joey explained.

"Guardians? Do you mean something like a summons?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not really sure what a summons is. How about I show you what I mean, and you can figure it out?" At Naruto's shrug, Joey called, "Come on out, Anji. Meet Naruto."

Instantly, a light shown brilliantly, and a quiet grunt was heard along with the clanging of metal from within the light. The brilliance began to fade to reveal a tall heavily muscled axe-wielding man with long purple hair and a tan. His clothing consisted of a thick metal chest guard and a Roman-styled battle skirt of leather and metal. His boots were also a leather and metal mixture.

Naruto stared in awe, his mouth slack. He had seen humans be summoned before, but it was always by way of a teleportation seal, never out of thin air. He watched as the large man bowed to the lanky blonde teen. Joey made a comment about how Anji didn't have to bow; they were friends.

Joey turned to the ninja and laughed at the look on his face. "Gotten that look a few times, it's saved our butts a few times, too. I don't think we could have beaten those Sound ninjas those two separate times if it hadn't been for the surprise of our guardians popping out."

That seemed to shake Naruto from his stupor. "You three have fought Sound ninja? Were they genin or did you get help?"

"I'm not really sure what level those last three were, but that first guy wasn't weak, that's for sure. I didn't see how Yugi and his guardian, Miroku, beat him. I distracted him so that Yugi could figure out what to do. I wasn't much of a distraction, though. I made a few comments about how he was nothing but a wanna-be Malik out for power he couldn't have. I used my mouth as usual even after he had thrown me around. Made him mad, that's for sure. I think I gave Yugi's Chaos Mage enough time to find out where the darkness was coming from, some cursed seal on the base of his neck. According to Yugi, Miroku helped him to get close enough to the guy and that seal. Yugi used his Shadow Magic to rip the dark chakra and stuff out of him. Miroku had to release himself because Yugi used so much power. Both of them were knocked out. Yug was out for over a week. The other guy had just woken up when we left. Yugi has a power that allows him to talk to others in their soul rooms. He said the other guy had been awakened from the darkness surrounding his heart. The dude even told us, really Yugi, a lot about Sound's attacks, strategies, and things like that. He was part of how we were able to beat the group that attacked us on the way here. He was why we keep ear-plugs on us at all times. Yugi even told him why we were here, and apparently he became worried about you."

Naruto went quiet, mulling over what the other blonde had told him. Things sounded suspiciously familiar. He had to find out the name of this enemy Yugi supposedly awoke from the darkness, so he asked Joey just that.

"Well, Hinata told us his name is Sasuke. Apparently he had been some traitor a few years ago. Yug, though, may have the power to sway his punishment and make it lighter."

The blade ninja's mouth fell open at hearing the name. That kid had done something he had not been able to: defeat Sasuke and bring him back. "There's no way that's possible! How could he have done that when I couldn't? I tried months ago and got beaten. How did that little kid do it and not get hurt?"

Joey shrugged. "I was unconscious, remember? Besides, Yugi had help from one of his strongest and highest level guardians. And I didn't say Yugi did it without any problems. He was out for over a week. His Shadow Magic and special chakra was what kept him going and let him pull the darkness out. Yugi hadn't used that power before, but knew it was the only way. So, he used the Ring's power in a way he saw a long while ago. I'm guessing you and this Sasuke were really as close as Hinata had said."

Naruto deflated, sighing. "Yeah, he was like a brother to me, one of my first friends. I've been trying so hard to get strong enough to bring him back. It hurt every time I failed, beyond the physical pain I would be dealt."

Joey nodded in understanding. "My girlfriend was once lost in the darkness. I tried giving up our duel to her, but Yugi and Yami wouldn't let me. They knew it wouldn't help. I tried everything to help her, but she wouldn't listen. That group had messed with her head so much she believed she would be happy again if I was out of her life—dead or whatever. They had members belittle her. Dartz, the leader, preyed on Malik's attack on her. He used that moment to make her feel that no one wanted her, that she was all alone. She did some pretty bad things, but she was just lost in the darkness. It took everything within me to save her. I have loved her through all of it, no matter what she did. She knows that, and it's what has helped her to start forgiving herself."

Naruto was quiet before, "So are you saying I just need to remind Sasuke that he's my brother and that there are people in Konoha who love him? Do you think that will help him heal and forgive himself and his brother?"

Joey nodded. "More or less. I mean, he won't stay away from the darkness unless he knows someone is there to chain him to the light."

Naruto slowly nodded, understanding what Joey meant. He needed to show Sasuke that he still saw him as a brother and would support him through whatever was coming. "Let's head back."

Joey nodded, and the two started to walk back to the small house.

"So, do you guys know when Sasuke's trial will be?" Naruto spoke up after a moment.

"No. They haven't said. I do know they want to wait to get more information on a couple of things. First, Yugi is having some monsters analyze that seal to find out what it does to the one branded with it. Second, we plan on finding his older brother and have Serenity use one of her special abilities to get some facts outta him." Joey answered.

"What kind of facts?"

"Well, a couple of months ago, Yugi felt some darkness coming from a set of houses. We stopped, and Hinata told us we were at the Uchiha residence. She then told us the general knowledge story of what happened there. Yugi had to know where the darkness was coming from, so he brought out Kuriboh and had him scout out the place. The story Yug got back was very different than what was going around. We want Ren to use the Necklace and see the real story. To do that, we need to get Sasuke's older brother and let Serenity touch him while she has her Shadow Magic activated and controlled by the Necklace. It has the ability to see the past and a possible future." Joey explained.

"So you mean that all this that Sasuke's been through could have been caused by a lie from his brother?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"It's very possible. According to what Yugi saw, it was actually the dad's fault along with most of the other adults in the family. But we'll get the full story once the guy's found and brought to the village and after Serenity has some more training." Joey answered.

"So you mean Sasuke's reason to live until now has been a lie?"

Joey shrugged. "Not really sure what his reason to live has been."

"It's been to kill his brother for what he did to their family with no other reason than to test himself. He only spared Sasuke because he was weak." Naruto explained.

"Doesn't it seem odd that out of all the kids, he only spared his brother? I mean, there had to be others smaller and younger than him. Why kill them and not Sasuke if the reasoning was because he was too weak? He couldn't have been weaker than toddlers or infants." The blonde duelist rationalized.

The ninja went quiet. The other teen had a good point. But if that was the case, why did Itachi tell Sauske that? As if sensing the other boy's thoughts, Joey shrugged to himself. "And maybe he felt he needed to punish himself for not being able to stop it but couldn't harm himself physically. Maybe he wanted Sasuke to keep pride in what their family showed as their values and not what they were in the dark. It's something only Itachi can answer."

The remainder of the walk was silent. Joey didn't have anything else to say, and Naruto was lost in thought. When they arrived at Tsunami's house the latter opened the door. They were greeted by Iruka. "Feeling better now, Naruto?" His voice showed worry.

"Yeah. I guess I just needed to talk to someone."

The teacher nodded before noticing Joey looking around. "Serenity and Gaara-sama are checking on Yugi and looking over him."

Joey threw out a "Thank you" as he headed toward his best friend and baby sister.

Naruto smiled and hugged Iruka. "Thanks for the worry, dad. I think everything will be ok now. I need to go tell Joey something before he talks to Serenity."

At Iruka's nod, the teen rushed off to catch up with the other blonde. "Joey, I have to tell you something." The two stopped in front of the room. "About the fox demon, you can't tell your sister or friend. It's protected under a law the 3rd Hokage set up. It's punishable by death to anyone telling but Granny Tsunade or me, and I don't plan on telling them. You found out by accident."

The two had stopped at the door. "Are you afraid Yug and Ren'll treat you different? They won't treat you like a monster. Then again, for us, being treated like a monster is a good thing." Came the blonde duelist's comment back. "Besides, Serenity has the powers of the Necklace and the Eye. She can read your mind, your past, and your possible future once she's fully trained, not that she'd use it on a friend intentionally. Then Yugi has this 6th sense about these things. He'd probably be able to read it from your spiritual energy or something. And if he were to treat you like a monster, it would be like the Duel Spirits, our friends. You have nothing to worry about."

"Serenity already knows, Naruto." Came the voice of the red-haired Kage.

Naruto threw open the door, being sure to stop it from making noise, and whispered harshly, "How does she know?"

"It is simple. She fell, and I caught her. In her panic from falling, she activated her Shadow Magic and saw my past. She knows of the both of us."

Joey heard the other blonde mumble, "Stupid Chunin exam…"

He turned to his sister. "You haven't changed your opinion of them have you?"

"Unless you count respecting them more, no." She replied.

"See, Naruto. I told you that you should have more faith in people, especially friends. Hinata told us you finally told all of them, and they didn't turn on you, the village some maybe, but not you." Joey looked at Naruto, who blushed sheepishly before his face fell.

"You wouldn't trust many people either if you would have dealt with the abuse I have." Naruto returned.

"Oh, I didn't. It wasn't until recently that I learned to trust others and, more importantly, myself. I came from an abusive family. In fact, our dad was still abusing me in some way until recently. He's one of those rare cases where the right woman can change him. He's even got a good job and has stopped drinking. Everything that happened to me before I met Yugi made me use violence as a defense mechanism. I joined a gang to fight people older and bigger than me. I became a bully, someone I hated, and started in on Yugi. He had his fair share of reasons to not trust people, me and Tristan especially. Instead, I learned I could put my trust in someone. He then taught me to trust myself." Joey sat down beside Serenity, staring intently at Yugi.

The room was quiet for a moment as Naruto took the time to sort through all he had been told. Maybe these three were different from the majority of his village, just like his friends. He still wasn't completely convinced, but if Gaara felt he could trust them, Granny Tsunadae trusted them to find him, and Iruka-sensei defended them, believed in them, then maybe he could let down his mask and defenses around them.

"Besides, we know the differences between a person and a second spirit within them, even when the lines are blurred. Ryou, Marik, Yugi. We know they weren't the same as the spirits that shared their bodies, no matter how good or evil that spirit was or could be." Joey informed him.

"We are fusing with our demons. Soon we will be half-human, half-tailed-demon. There will not be a difference." Gaara put in.

"Sweet. You'll be like InuYasha." Joey smiled excitedly.

Before he could explain what he meant to the two confused ninja, Serenity spoke up. "That may be, but the two of you are still separate from your demons personality and spirit wise. Marik and Yugi melded with theirs all the time, but they were still separate beings, even if Malik was more a split personality created to protect Marik from the abuse his father caused."

"Yugi has a demon sealed in him?" Naruto asked.

"He wasn't a demon. He was an ancient spirit. He sealed his own soul away to protect his home from evil beings. He and Yugi were extremely close. That is until the spirit moved on as he was supposed to. We hated to see him leave, but he had to go home where he truly belonged." Joey cut in.

Serenity put a hand on her brother's shoulder before her attention turned to the other two. "He had his moments. Yugi was even afraid of him for a while, and then they became so close. It was heartbreaking, those first few weeks. Yugi was so depressed after he had to leave, even though he knew it was for the best. But let's talk about something else. I don't feel right talking about Yugi while he lays here with no way of commenting."

The group nodded and began to exchange stories. Joey shared some of their past and Duelist Kingdom, Serenity shared some of her time with their mom and Battle City, Gaara went into more detail about his uncle's betrayal and his rise to Kage status, and Naruto shared his Genin exams and some adventures with Team 7. They talked into the night, getting dinner at one point. Iruka and Inari joined in at different points. Finally, the four grew weary and decided to crash with Yugi that night, even if Tsunami had told them to stay in their own rooms.

This continued on for a few days. The only breaks taken were for meals and training. When Naruto and Joey spared, the blonde ninja was surprised at the other's strength and speed. Both had a similar style of attacking: random, erratic, surprise attacks. Both agreed to not use special abilities, and Iruka was always present to make sure things didn't get out of control. After each match both boys would be tired and sore, but laughing.

On the fourth day, Serenity was taking a turn watching her close friend, nearly falling asleep herself,, when she felt movement coming from the futon. She held her breath as the boy's eyes slowly began to open, signifying he was finally awaking from his exhaustion and near suffocation induced sleep. The red-head watched as he blinked his large innocent eyes to return focus to his eye sight. His head fell to the side as he sensed her presence.

"Serenity?" He called.

"Hey, Yugi. How are you feeling?" Serenity's voice was hushed.

"Much better. What caused that?" The little one's voice was still weak.

"Apparently Zabuza's spirit protects this place. He was the one that attacked Summoned Skull in the Shadow Game. He either wanted revenge or thought we were here to hurt Naruto."

Yugi nodded in understanding before trying to sit up. He was weak, but not in pain. Serenity helped him up, and Yugi leaned against her. "How long was I out?"

"A few days. We've been worried. Ms. Tsunami has been helping us get you water. I'm sure you want a bath and a meal, am I right?"

Yugi nodded. "Wait. Did Naruto ever show up? This village is where he's signal was coming from."

"He was the one to call Zabuza off. He's a really nice guy and so is Gaara. They've been helping us watch over you." Serenity said as she moved away to go inform the others of Yugi's awakening. Before she left, the girl kissed his cheek. "I'm glad you're finally up."

Yugi blushed as he watched her walk out of the room and close the door behind her. A chuckle resounded in the back of his mind. "This was not something I was informed of, little one. When did you and Serenity become loves? What about Tea?"

Yugi's blush increased at Yami's words. "It's not like that. We just told one another we have mutual feelings that exceed friendship and are planning to see how far it goes once we return home. We do not feel 100% safe here. And as far as Tea, I have not heard from her since she moved to New York." Yugi answered a tinge of sadness evident in his voice near the end. He may not be in love with the girl anymore, but she was still a dear friend, and it hurt to not know what was going on with her.

Yami quietly chuckled again. "I am sorry. I am sure she is working to focus on dance for a short while. She will contact you soon. But I do not understand why you are so embarrassed about the situation between you and Serenity. I am quite happy with the idea of you two together."

Yugi simply shrugged as the door opened. Joey rushed in, nearly tackling the poor boy to the ground as he hugged him. Tsunami scolded the blonde for being so rough, but Yugi politely told her it was ok. "You must be Ms. Tsunami." At her nod, Yugi smiled. "Thank you for helping my friends and me."

She returned the smile. "Of course dear. Now come on. You need a bat and a good meal. Then you can get caught up on everything that's gone one while you were recovering."

Yugi nodded before slowly following; Joey at his side. Soon the small teen was seated at the dining table, slowly making his way through the food Tsunami set before him. Joey and Serenity filled him in on what had gone on while he was out of commission.

When he finally finished, his friends decided to show him around the village. Joey looked up at the time. Yugi was finished eating so the blonde tugged at his arm. "Come on, Yugi. Let's go meet the reasons we are in this village."

Yugi nodded and stood to follow his friend. Joey led the way into the forest surrounding the small fishing village. Soon they came upon the sounds of battle and taunts. They stepped into the clearing to see the blonde and red-head throwing weapons, attacks, energy, and taunts (the latter mostly from the blonde). Yugi could instantly sense the darkness in both boys. The darkness wasn't of his Shadows and though he could feel no pure evil, he knew they were demons—he could sense it.

The third eye lit up Yugi's forehead, allowing him to read their energies. As it faded, he smiled. The demons were protecting the boys, fusing with them. He wondered if the demons were why the two were targeted. If they fused, the demons would not be able to be separated, thus keeping the boys from dying from the process. He could read that their life energies were intertwined with the demons.

Shortly after activating his Shadow Magic, he realized it was a bad idea as he felt extremely weak. He reached out for Joey's arm, using it to steady himself. Joey shot him a look of worry. He gave the boy a tired smile, and the blonde duelist sighed before scooping him up into his arms. "Hey, you two! Pay attention to your surroundings! You just got scanned and didn't even realize it."

Both boys froze in mid-attack to turn and look over in the direction Joey's voice came from. Both instantly realized it was Yugi in his arms. They began to walk over, Naruto arriving first. "Dude, look who finally woke up. How are you feeling?"

"Hi. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm feeling tired, but otherwise great." Yugi smiled weakly.

"What did you mean by us being scanned and not realizing it, Joey?" Gaara spoke up, inclining his head in greeting to Yugi.

"He meant I had sensed a strange darkness from your spirits, so I used my Shadow Magic to analyze it, make sure it wasn't hurting you or wouldn't be harmful to my friends. I'm just a bit paranoid about those kinds of things. It goes along with a feeling of unease sometimes, but I've started doing it to everyone new because I tend to second guess myself and my instincts. But you don't have to worry. I know you and we are perfectly safe. They protect you both, don't they? In fact, they are saving your lives by fusing with you now, aren't they? That group wants to tear them from you, but from what I saw, there would be no way for that to happen without you dying in the process. Oh, and don't worry, your secrets are safe with me." Yugi explained.

Gaara nodded, "It has happened to me once already. They were not able to relieve me of my entire demon without me dying from the purging. One of my village's elders brought me back from the brink of death at the cost of her life. Seven others have already been taken and killed by the Akatsuki. Naruto and I are the last remaining tailed-ones."

"Well, I guess this proves you are alright to trust, just like Joey tried to hammer into my head. You don't think lowly of us?" Naruto had to ask to quell his own fears.

"No, I don't. We've met numerous of your friends back in Konoha and here and everyone thinks so highly of you. They all love you both and have told us so much about you. We know that even though we've only scratched the surface; we have a pretty clear of your true personalities. Besides, if you were evil, then the second I saw you my Shadow Magic would have warned me. After all the people we've met that's only after our power or to take over the world or whatever else those people tend to want, I've been able to train myself to properly read my magic. If my eyes and everything else is telling me that all is just fine, but my magic is telling me to run like heck, I'm going to run like heck. I've been burned and put my friends in danger too many times not to listen." Yugi placed his head back on Joey's shoulder and closed his eyes once he was finished.

Joey sighed. "Yug, you have to learn restraint…Well, I guess we need to head on back. Tsunami'll be having dinner ready soon, and I for one don't want to be late and have to explain why Yugi passed out."

The other two nodded before following the blonde duelist to the small house they had taken refuge in. "I am glad he trusts us. I do not believe he will treat us as most others do." Gaara spoke up.

"Yeah, I was so adamant about not telling him. I was so afraid he'd treat us like monsters, just as everyone else tends to do if they don't know us originally. I'm glad he scanned us, even if it makes us look a bit bad as ninja and caused him to pass out." Naruto relented.

"I told you, guys. If any of us treated you like monsters that would be a good thing. Besides, Yugi's not like that anyway. Remember what I told you the other day about him and grudges/hard feelings. Kid doesn't have any, for the most part. The only times he really gets a temper is when his friends are threatened, in danger or if someone comments on his height. That's a sore spot for him because so many use it as criteria for torment, even his father." Joey pointed out.

The two soon-to-be half demons nodded as the group walked back the rest of the way to Tsunami's house silently. When they stepped inside the woman was instantly worrying over Yugi. "What happened to him? I told you not to let him overexert himself. He just woke up, Joey. I thought you were going to watch out for him."

"Hey, hey. Wait a minute. Yugi was fine until we met up with these two." Joey motioned to the pair of ninja behind him. "He has this automatic reaction to anyone new. He has to scan them with his Shadow Magic to make sure they're friendly and won't try and hurt us. After everything we've been through, it's a defense mechanism, namely since 'Namu'. So, I didn't let him do it; he did it on his own."

Tsunami nodded. "Ok." She sighed. "Take him back to his room so he can rest." Joey nodded and did as told. He knew the boy would be back up and about in a couple of hours. Tsunami nodded after before turning back to Naruto and Gaara. "Could you two go and get us some meat for dinner tonight? I'm sure Yugi's going to be quite hungry when he wakes up again, and you know how you two and Joey eat. Thank you, boys."

The ninja nodded before stepping back out the door to head to the market. It didn't take them long to buy what was needed and start heading back. Half way to the house, both boys heard their names being called. They turned to see Inari, Serenity, and Iruka. The two males were getting off guard duty, and the girl had went to get them, picking up a few extra vegetables along the way. Inari waved at the two as they approached. Once in line with each other, the small group headed back to the house. "How is Yugi doing since he woke up? Have you been able to talk to him any?" Serenity inquired.

"For a moment. He was awake long enough to tell us he knew of our demons and that he trusted us. Once said, he passed out." Gaara informed her.

Iruka and Inari looked worried while Serenity giggled. "He scanned you, didn't he?" At their nods, the girl sighed. "It's become such a defense mechanism he doesn't even realize he does it now…Oh well, that saves you two quite the awkward conversation. He'll be up again in a bit. His Shadow Magic doesn't take long to recharge his body when it's such a minor release like that. It'll be fine." Serenity tried to reassure the four. It had happened before. Ever since that 'Namu Incident' he would scan those that came along. He didn't fully trust his judgment since then, especially with Yami gone.

"He really should be more careful. That could cost him energy and time he doesn't have." Iruka spoke up.

"You may think that, but if the person already shows no reason to trust them, or is aggressive, the Shadow Magic doesn't even try to scan them. It prepares for offense or defense. You see our Shadow Magic is basically part of our spirit, even our soul. It's an extension of us that reacts to our feeling of needing protection. Yugi's 'auto-scan' –as he calls it—has saved us numerous times, and it's really helped some of our friends to see the truth or to see their motivation. The only reason Yugi passed out this time was because of having just woken up from being nearly suffocated. That doesn't normally happen." Serenity explained.

Naruto piped up. "Joey was telling us that. He said something about a time with Namu and if Yugi had had that automatic reaction then a major headache would have been avoided."

Serenity nodded. "My brother wouldn't have been hit by lightening either, probably."

The four boys gapped at the girl. "Seriously, lightening?" Inari whispered in awe.

"Angered Egyptian Spirit. Joey's opponent was using a fake Winged Dragon of Ra, an Egyptian God to make us believe Odion, the opponent, was Marik and not 'Namu', the actual Marik. The Duel Spirit became enraged at the use of a fake him and attacked all in the duel, thus striking Joey. We, his friends, came to him in a dream and helped him up, getting him back in the duel which he won by default. That was one tournament Joey drove the doctors insane during." Serenity stepped through the door allowing Joey to hear the ending of her statement.

"Oh, haha, sis. I wouldn't have driven them nowhere if they hadn't kept trying to say I wasn't healthy enough to be up and walking around." The boy in question huffed before helping the two younger ninja take their purchases to the kitchen.

"You were struck by lightning, took part of Ra's attack on Mai that Yami and Yugi couldn't stop, and then fell into a coma after taking the full brunt of Ra's attack. You really expect them to just let you go five minutes after waking up while both Mai and Ryou were still in comas from Egyptian God card attacks?" Serenity sounded exasperated.

After sitting the package on the counter, Joey turned to his sister and shrugged. "Yugi needed me. I knew he was starting to loose some of his faith and confidence after I fought against Marik and got hurt. I had to show him that everything was going to be ok."

Serenity just shook her head while Naruto snickered.

"I will go check on Yugi while dinner is being prepared." Gaara spoke up, walking toward the room.

"Ok. Let us know when he wakes up. Maybe dinner'll be done by then." Joey called after, receiving a grunt of acknowledgement.

The group left in the kitchen got to work cleaning and cutting the food for cooking. Gaara slowly and quietly opened the door to come upon a common image of the past few days: Yugi sleeping. The red-head took his usual place aside the boy and sat guard.

After the red-head left, Naruto sighed. "I just don't understand." His voice was hushed.

Those in the room looked over at him. "What don't you understand, Naruto?" Iruka spoke up.

"How come some kid we never met before knows without a doubt that even our demons are not enemies, but our freaking villages, especially the 'all-powerful' elders wanted us dead? They were all so sure we'd let our demons out to kill everyone, that we were all puppets controlled by them, or the actual demons re-born." Tears streamed down the boy's face as he fell to his knees. "They hated us. They tried to kill us. They treated us as scum, monsters, or worse: as non-existent. They looked at us with cold dead eyes, not even acknowledging us as living beings even after we have been nothing but loyal and faithful. Then here's the three of you that know about the demons, accidentally or not, but you don't care. You don't think any different about us and you barely know us. Why?" He turned his eyes toward Joey then shifted to Serenity.

Joey sighed before looking over at Tsunami. She nodded and the blonde helped the other to stand before leading him into another room. Once they were both seated Joey took a deep breath. "The Millennium Items were dark mystical items that gave the owners the ability to control portions of the Shadows. Each had its own power. The ones I'm in control of in this universe are the Scale and Key. The Scale judges the heart and a person's soul. The Key unlocks a person's heart and soul so that I can see their true self. The Key also gives me the ability to turn someone into my puppet by rearranging their soul room. The ones Serenity controls here are the Necklace and Eye. The Necklace gives her the ability to see the past and a possible future. The Eye lets her see into a person's mind. She can see through lies and read a person's true self. The Eye also lets her transfer or capture a person's soul into a blank object." Joey paused for a moment.

"What does any of that have to do with why you guys don't hate us?" Naruto inquired.

"Well, for one, I just told you that our items let us know a person's true self, no matter who they are or where they are. Second, I'm not finished. It's really the back story of Yugi's items that explains it. You see, Yugi controls the Ring, Rod, and Puzzle. The Ring has the ability to separate influences on a body from the body. This can range from a dark presence to dark chakra to the person's actual soul. It can also lock on to a spiritual signal and track the owner by it. That's actually how we found you two here. We knew it could be done because we've seen it in work before, but I'll get to that in a minute. The Rod can be used to control opponents or any random person. To do that, it wipes the person's mind clean, locks them away within themselves. It can also paralyze people; even throw them across rooms or anywhere away from the user. Finally, Yugi controls the Puzzle. It's probably the strongest of the items and the most closely entwined with Yugi's very spirit. The Puzzle grants Yug the ability to control the powers of the Shadows. With it, he can manipulate the Shadows into attacks, barriers, or restraints. He rules over the Realm of Shadows, including the creatures in it. He can remove souls from their bodies, and he can put them back. He can block the other items' powers, but the Puzzle gets stronger when untied with the others. He has the ability to see the purity in others and help them see it around and in themselves. He can pull people from some very dark places. It also gives him the ability to unite those around him, to pull them back into the light, protect them, and help them see the power in unity." Again, Joey paused, preparing himself for the rest of what he had to say.

"Still, are you trying to say that he sees the purity in us, even the demons? I don't see what any of this has to do with it." Naruto spoke up again.

Joey sighed out the breath he had taken. "That's part of it. But the bigger piece is what I'm about to tell you. See, the three items Yug has are more special than the ones Serenity and I have, to an extent. His items held 'spirits'. The Puzzle's we kinda already told you about. Atem was like Yug's brother. They were extremely close and not just because of having to share a body. Atem was like the other half of Yugi's soul: one dark, the other light. The shielded and protected each other. Atem taught Yugi confidence and gave him the ability to tap into his true strength. Yugi taught Atem humility, kindness, and how to be humble and ask for help. They were of the same bloodline, were connected spirits, were inseparable, but no matter how close or how long they were together, they were separate people. They knew that, we knew that, nothing would ever change that." Joey stopped a moment, remembering the day that it was projected in front of them all so that they could see and realize just what Yugi was about to have to go through.

"But both of them were good guys. Kyuubi nearly destroyed Konoha, and Shukaku took over Gaara just so that he could kill and feel the blood soak into his sand and trickle through it. That's not exactly a definition to 'good guys'." Naruto pointed out.

"That may be, but the spirit of the Ring wasn't exactly a sweetheart. And the split personality the Rod gave Marik to deal with the abuse wasn't the nicest of people. And you'd be surprised at what all Atem did before Yugi befriended him and started asserting a little control. Let's just call the spirit of the Ring Bakura. He, in ancient times, was a tomb robber, the self proclaimed King of Thieves. He loved ransacking the tombs of the pharaohs past, especially Atem's dad's. He did it just to upset Atem. Even in modern times he was a kleptomaniac and a just plain grade A nutcase. Our friend, Ryou, owned the Ring. It was a gift from his dad, but he never realized all the headaches it would give him. Bakura would take over any time he wanted and force Ryou to blackout. Ryou has told us he'd wake up sometimes in his bed covered in blood or with some new trinket or soot all over him. He never knew what Bakura had done, but it was easy to figure out that it wasn't good. We never were sure why Bakura forced him to blackout, maybe for the innocence plea, maybe to protect him. They were two sides of the same soul, from the same bloodline, just like Yugi and Atem were. But they were never close, never truly friends. Ryou was actually afraid of Bakura, but he wouldn't back down unless overpowered. He would do whatever he could to keep Bakura in his place, but he couldn't have his guard up all day, every day. Marik's created split personality was more than a little psycho. He took great pleasure in torturing anyone he could and that even included Marik's sister and adopted brother. He nearly killed him, made Mai slowly loose her memories—creating a broken shell of who she was—when he trapped her in the Shadow Realm, tried to banish Marik, kill his brother, and slowly ripped away at Yugi's soul during the duel between him and Atem. It really hurt hearing Yugi's cries as his body was being torn apart, especially since it was at the soul level. Marik was able to rid himself of that personality, but the impact was there. Then there was Atem early on in reassembly. The guy was stir-crazy, and after being in the darkness for 3,000 years, you can't really blame him for it. Before Yugi and he became friends, Yugi blacked out a lot and suddenly here was this commanding presence rolling off the body. Subtle changes occurred, but Yug never knew it. He just knew that there were moments of darkness during the day after he was beaten up or had gotten upset. I guess it was about a two month period of time that this was happening. During that time, people that had hurt or upset Yugi had gone insane, had strange accidents, or there were even a couple of seemingly self-caused accidental deaths. We never put it together until after Atem was willing to blast Kaiba off a three-story tower on top of about 100 feet of cliff to a water death and scared Yug half to death. He didn't even want to duel anyone anymore because he was scared Atem would be willing to kill them to if that's what it took to win. The difference in all three of these spirits is that Atem repented, felt horrible about what he had done, though he didn't feel guilty; Bakura possibly protected his lighter half, but did whatever he wanted to get whatever he wanted without any remorse; Malik, the split personality, never cared about anyone but himself and felt everyone else was in his way. In all three cases, there was a definite line drawn between who was whom, and that line never fully blurred. What Yugi saw when he scanned you and Gaara was two sets of spirits inhabiting the same body, and even though the lines between you are blurring and you may eventually become one, you will always be separate beings. It's obvious that the two demons feel bad about what they've done in the past, and they are trying to make amends by protecting you two now. Yugi sees a reflection of himself and our other two friends in both of you, so how could he hate you without hating himself? Serenity and I see it too. Do you get it now?" Joey finished explaining.

Slowly, attempting to absorb it all, Naruto nodded. "We are a lot alike. It's why I couldn't bring myself to hate Gaara no matter the horrible things he did at the demon's command. Yeah, I understand now. Thanks, Joey."

The blonde duelist shrugged. "No problem, bro. Now come on, let's go help finish up dinner. Yugi's gonna be starving when he wakes up again."

At Naruto's nod, the two headed back into the kitchen. Naruto was quieter than normal, but he had a lot to think about. However, a smile stayed on the boy's face for the rest of the night.

It was another hour or so before the sleeping boy groaned and started to wake up. He slowly sat up. "Alright, Yami, we have got to work on making that a conscious reaction, not an automatic one."

"Is this Yami the reason you have no hatred toward Naruto and me?" the sand user inquired.

Yugi jumped slightly before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't notice you there."

Gaara just nodded before repeating his inquiry.

"Kinda." Yugi sighed. "My Shadow Magic told me you tow weren't any threat, nor were your demons. But I understand your differences because of him. He's sort of like my brother, but he was born 3,000 years before me and is my ancestor. During my years as his vessel, trying to help him regain the memories he had lost, we became extremely close. He's back to help me train, but when we are done here, he will be returning home, to his own time once again. He's my encouragement and inside helper."

Gaara contemplated the boy's words before inclining his head in understanding. He stood, saying, "Joey asked to let them know when you had awoken. Dinner will be done shortly." With that said the quiet ninja stepped out of the room and closed the door.

Yugi watched him go with a mild set of confusion. He shrugged his shoulders when Yami appeared beside him. "Not one for conversations, is he?"

The younger shook his head. "I guess not. Yami, I was being serious about training more. I need more endurance."

"I know you were, Little One, but I hope that this sudden urgent need to increase your endurance does not have roots in your last unconscious state. No amount of training will allow you to take being suffocated and frozen for longer before you succumb. You still needed rest when you scanned them. All that has recently happened has nothing to do with your strength or endurance levels. I believe the training you need is to control your 'auto-scan' when you are weak and in need of rest."

Yugi sighed. "But I've been such a burden lately. I couldn't even stay conscious after that fight with Sasuke. And now Joey's had to carry be twice because of me passing out. Some great leader I am."

"We have worked on your control of the Ring's powers, and you have improved greatly. Remember, Joey didn't do nearly the damage you did, nor did he last nearly as long in that battle as you did before he was knocked out. And you showed great control as the Ring led all of you here. Again, Little One, do not beat yourself up over things you had no control over." Atem sat in front of the boy and took his face in his hands. "Remember what I told you a few years ago: you have what it takes to be an incredible Pharaoh. You just have to believe in yourself."

Yugi blinked and tears slipped from his eyes, gently running down the curves of his cheeks, and Atem's hands. The elder softly rubbed them away. He smiled gently at the younger, *Some things never change, but I'm glad that he's the same innocent boy he has always been.*

The small duelist giggled, the gentle wiping had tickled. With a smile on his face again, Atem smiled brightly, nodding. "Now you should get up and get something to eat. I believe I hear Joey headed this way. We'll talk about your training more later." When he said that, the dark spirit disappeared from sight, relaxing in the knowledge that his light was happy once again.

Joey enter the room to see Yugi sitting up, faint trails of tears were staining his cheeks. The blonde sighed. "What's up, Yug? Why were you crying?"

Yugi looked up, but smiled at seeing his best friend. "Nothing anymore. Don't worry, Atem talked some sense into me. I was just feeling a bit like a burden after having passed out twice."

Joey chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds just like you, little bro. Glad you ain't still beating yourself up. Now come on, dinner is being served."

Yugi smiled, and the blonde helped the younger duelist to his feet and made sure he was steady before leading him back to the dining room. Once seated Yugi was introduced to Inari and was told that Tazuna was still away on a building job.

The group quickly dug into the food presented to them. Everything was quiet for a bit until Naruto decided to break the silence. "So, Yugi, what chakra element are you? I'm wind, and Gaara's earth."

"Oh, I'm a dual primary element according to Jiraiya. We're guessing that my Shadow Magic influenced it because mine are darkness and light."

Naruto's head popped away from his plate. Gaara just stared hard at him. Yugi blushed at the sudden attention as even Inari and Tsunami were looking at him in shock. "Seriously?! Nobody's ever had those elements alone, never mind at the same time. I thought it was impossible for opposing elements to be alive in the same person without causing problems for that person, Iruka-sensei." Naruto turned to his father figure, a bit worried for the small duelist.

"Usually that would be the case. Tsunade-sama thinks his Shadow Magic keeps him safe, and that the two protect each other within him. In fact the two elements are like brothers coinciding in the same space. It may be because of Yugi's past and the fact that both have always lived peacefully together inside him." Iruka explained.

"I was a Hikari strictly for years and someone who was like my brother was a Yami. Our souls were linked by an item I possessed. The powers granted him as a Yami protected me, and my powers as a Hikari allowed me to protect him. When he…left us a few months ago, he passed his Yami energy to me. A piece of his spirit is with me, protecting me. I guess it would be easier to show you how my two energies work together than trying to explain it." Yugi stood from the table before extending his right hand. He concentrated on bringing up both elements. They sprung forth like small flames, dancing on his palm. One was a mixture of blue, purple and black, while the other was a mixture of white and gold, and both intertwined with each other, caressing each other gently. It was an almost intimate interaction between the energies, as if they were twins separated for far too long. He soon dismissed the chakra and sat back down before looking into the shocked faces of those that had not truly known what he was capable of.

Suddenly, Naruto burst from his seat. "That was AWESOME!" He cried out, surprising the three duelists. Joey even chocked, but quickly got it under control. He was, as he basically told Mai once, used to it happening.

Once over his shock, Yugi giggled. "Thank you, I guess. I'm just not used to people reacting so much to my powers. Sure Neji looked like he was going to have a heart attack, but I just kinda figured that was because it was Neji."

"Well, I'm sure that was part of it, but seriously, no one has ever had that ability as far as I know. I've traveled all over with Jiraiya, and I've never seen anyone with opposing elements let alone a dark element or a light element." Naruto had calmed down and was sitting in his chair once again after looks from both Iruka and Tsunami. "I mean, Joey told me the basics of your abilities that you get from some items you control, but I never expected a display like that."

Yugi looked at Joey. "How did my powers come up in a conversation?" Yugi looked a bit amused.

"Well, Naruto was a bit upset and confused as to why we so easily accepted them, demons and all. So I basically said that for one, we each have the ability to see a person's true self. Second, we have ways of telling spirits inhabiting the same body apart. We've had so much practice with it." Joey had a cheeky grin as he finished.

Yugi sighed and rolled his eyes. "I suppose that's true. I just hope things weren't overly exaggerated. But either way, are you feeling better with it, Naruto?"

"Yeah, I am. It was a lot to think through and accept, but I have. And if anything, after that display, I think Joey understated everything you all can do." Naruto admitted.

There was a comical feel to the air despite Naruto remembering his earlier frustration and irritation. The blonde ninja brought up the subject of Joey's hospitalization on a blimp. After the explanation behind Joey being in the medical ward and his subsequent refusal to stay in bed that all had a laugh at, it was time for bed.

That night as Yugi fell asleep in the presence of the other boys; his spirit entered his Soul Room. Looking around, the boy smiled at the familiar room filled with the toys of his childhood. After standing there reminiscing for a few moments, the small teen headed toward the door. He crossed the hall and entered the adjoined room after knocking.

Once he slipped in, he was bombarded by all the memories of the past: both his and Atem's. A small smile appeared on his face before he called out to his spirit brother. Almost instantly the once Pharaoh stepped out of the shadows. The maze of the room had disappeared, having changed to the palace. "Hello there, little one. Are you sure it is wise to train tonight? I think you should wait until you have returned to the village. It would be safer."

Yugi sighed. "Can we put together a plan then? I know I still need to practice with the Ring before I even attempt the Rod. I also want to work on controlling my auto-scan and my endurance levels when using both my Shadow Magic and chakra."

"Working with the Ring's tracking ability would be a great exercise with your ninja friends. They can give you much more of a challenge than I can. We are connected by our spirits. We will always know where the other is. It would be wise to master one item not synchronized to your soul before starting on another, you are correct. Working on your auto-scan will require, in part, you meeting new people. I'm sure your ninja friends can help you there as well. I can help you recognize the feeling it gives off so that you may be more aware of it occurring. That way it may be easier for you to shut it down or even activate it. I can help you work on endurance while you are here after you have returned to the village. To do that, we will spar. I can bring in Duel Monsters for you to spar with, and as practice you can work on summoning here too. It should be simpler to do here with those levels you haven't quite mastered yet." Atem contributed.

Yugi nodded. "I'm still having trouble with level five's. The ones in our deck I can summon without too much problem. It's the ones I'm not really familiar with that are being difficult. Oh, and magic's like Raigeki sometimes gives me a hard time. I can't hold it for long. And I haven't even tried the field spells. I'm not sure what they'll do for me, advantage wise."

Atem stopped to think for a moment. "I believe the spells will become easier for you the more practice you get. I'm sure it is just a matter of increasing your endurance as well. As far as what the fields go, I think I know what Yami will do. You do remember our duel with Panic, correct?" At the smaller's nod, he continued. "I believe it will blanket our forces in darkness so that the enemy cannot decipher our moves while they are completely within our view. Others, such as Umi, may help against certain element users. Umi may plunge us into a watery field, where Serenity would flourish, but one such as Gaara and those Oto ninja would fall. Sogen would boost you and Joey, but cause problems for someone like Shikamaru or others than utilize darkness or shadows as a means of protection. In Wasteland, Gaara would flourish, but a water or plant user would suffer. It could even cause problems for the Oto. I think it would be interesting to try each out with your friends just to see what special effects each had. We already know how they work with our summons. It would be interesting to see if they would have the same boost effects on you and the ninja."

The small duelist thought for a moment before smiling and nodding. "That would be awesome. I wonder if I could activate Wasteland and try it out with Gaara tomorrow. I would love to see if it could boost his power."

"You could try it, just remember to release the magic the moment you start to feel weak. I would like to find out what each does, including Rising Air Current and Ancient Sanctuary." He gently ruffled Yugi's hair earning a yelp from the boy and him batting the Pharaoh's hand away.

Suddenly Yugi's smile became mischievous. Atem noticed and began to back away from him. Before the elder could get very far he was tackled to the ground by a giggling Yugi who snuggled against his chest, his arms wrapped around his waist. Atem chuckled as he began to pat the boy on the head. "I missed you so much, big brother. I'm so glad you came back, even if you have to go home again. It's nice having you here with me again. It's been lonely without your calming presence."

The Pharaoh sighed, hugging the boy. "You know I am always with you, no matter what. You are and will forever be my little brother. The monsters and Shadow Realm connect us. This room will always be open to you; you just have to remember how to enter once I go back. It will be akin to a open line of communication between us, just as Mahado can be."

Yugi nodded against the elder's chest, but didn't show any signs of getting up. Atem just smiled, idly rubbing the boy's back. Things were quiet for a while. The two just laid on the carpeted part of the floor, staying in each other's presence. Suddenly, Yugi felt an outside force calling him. He groaned. "I guess it's time to wake up."

Atem chuckled at the boy's reluctance to get up. "The others will get worried about you, little one. You know I will still be here. Now go on."

Yugi sighed but sat up anyway. "Alright. I'll see you later then."

As the boy woke up in the outside world, the palace around him faded. The last thing he saw of it for the day was Atem smiling and waving.

His eyes slowly blinked open to see Joey kneeling beside him with his hand on his shoulder. He gave a slight glare at his best friend, but just sighed as he sat up. Joey chuckled. "I'm guessing you were having a good dream."

"Kinda. I was talking to and spending time with Atem. We were talking about training and some of the possible card effects, like dealing with field spells." Yugi yawned and stood up to follow his friend into the dining room.

He sleepily greeted the others as he sat down at the table just as a plate of food was placed in front of him. "Thank you. This looks great." Yugi smiled up at Tsunami before digging in.

Joey pushed out an agreement past his full mouth. She gently chastised the teen but smiled in thanks nonetheless. When he swallowed, Joey turned to Yugi and asked him what kind of plans for training he and Atem had made. The name caused Naruto's head to snap in the direction of the smaller teen.

Once Yugi swallowed, not really noticing the attention he was now getting from the ninja present, he explained what he and the Pharaoh had spoken on. After finishing the explanation he turned to the sand user. "Oh, that reminds me that I wanted to try something with you today. Would it be ok if we went out to the training area I first met you in and try out one of my spell cards? I just want to see if it would boost your abilities. I was told you used sand. Is that right, Gaara?" The young man nodded. "Will you let me try it after breakfast? It won't take long mostly because I have a spirit that worries more like a mother than a brother in my head. I would also love to see how you train, both you and Naruto. If that's ok."

"Sure, that sounds awesome. What all booster magic things do you have?" Naruto piped up.

"Oh, well there are numerous ones like the one I want to try, but they aren't as common as equipment magic cards. The one I want to try is known as a field spell. It allows me to change the scenery in order to give my monsters and me an advantage. Each monster has a specific land type that they do best on. For example, I'm sure you've met Junpei—Joey's Flame Swordsman." At Naruto and Gaara's nod, he continued. "Well, he does best in open areas and gets a boost from meadows. So, for him, I would use Sogen. I'm not sure as of yet what all effects the field spells have, but I really want to experiment with them."

"Yeah, I would love to see something of those powers you have. We can head out as soon as we get done. How much longer before we head back to Konoha?" Naruto spoke up.

"I sent notification to Tsunade-sama yesterday of Yugi waking up. We'll probably be here for a couple more days, just to make sure Yugi is back to 100%." Iruka noted.

At the groups nod, they quickly finished up their breakfast before gearing up for training. Iruka followed mostly to make sure nothing got out of control, but also because he was intrigued by this new possibility of a power boost.

Soon they were again standing in the small clearing that served as training grounds the past week. Once settled and stretched, at Iruka's bidding. Gaara and Naruto took their places across from each other. The two spared for a few minutes, to fall into the right mindset. Shortly after, at Yugi's request, the two started to use jutsu. "Can you gauge the strength of their attacks, Iruka-sensei?" Yugi asked.

Iruka nodded and began to watch them intently. After some time, Yugi called out, "Wasteland!"

The environment around them began to flicker and change before there was a giant flash. As the white light dissipated, the air grew dry and hot. The sound of sand slowly tumbling over barren parched land could be heard. Once visible, the group never seeing the card game before was in utter shock.

Joey whistled. "Dude, this puts Kaiba's virtual and holographic tech to shame!"

Yugi giggled. "It is really life like, but I guess that's the point. Maybe we're in some form of the Shadow Realm." Yugi shrugged. "Anyway, Gaara, can you try your attacks again? Be careful, Naruto. They may be stronger."

With a nod, both went back to their experimental sparring match. Naruto, just to see the true power his friend had now, sent out five kage bushin. Gaara, seeing what the other was doing, went all out with the sand blast he went out against the clones. It was normal for a single attack to take them out, even though they were solid. However, the resulting explosions rocked the area. They were much more violent than normal, and the strength of the sand attack was obviously greatly increased. The sparring stopped due to the awe both boys were in.

After a beat, Yugi cheered. "It worked! When we get back to the village, we have got to try the others!" The small teen was extremely excited.

"Hey, Yugi, how much longer do you think you can hold this? I wanted to try something with Junpei." Joey stepped forward.

"A while still. The only drain I felt was during the activation."

Joey nodded at his friend. "Junpei, come on out!"

Instantly, the Duel Spirit came forth and greeted his charge. "What do you need, Joey?"

"I want to try something. Naruto, can you send out those clones again?" Joey turned to the other blonde.

Naruto nodded and instantly sent out three clones. The brown-eyed boy sighed out a breath before ordering the blue and red clad warrior to attack. "Salamandra Strike!"

The warrior went into action immediately. He jumped back then slashed his, now glowing, sword to the side. A giant flaming dragon burst from his blade. The dragon was twice the size it normally was, and the heat rolling from it was intense. The three clones were incinerated before even coming into full contact with the flames. Everyone stood in awe. "That was awesome!" Joey and Naruto exclaimed together after a few moments of stunned silence.

Shortly after; however, Joey began to feel drained. The dragon hadn't dissipated, and the blonde realized it was his Shadow Magic and energy that fed it as well. "Junpei, call off you attack and head on back. That was a great showing, but I'm starting to feel drained. Thanks,, buddy."

Junpei nodded. "See you later, Joey and my friends."

The group waved to the Duel Spirit before he went back to his realm.

Yugi closed his eyes and concentrated on pulling his own Shadow Magic from the physical form of the magic card he conjured. He too was feeling tired, but once the wasteland returned to a beautiful forest, he felt back to normal.

"Alright! I think lunch and a nap is in order." Joey stretched as he headed back toward the house. When he passed Yugi, he ruffled the boy's hair.

The small one giggled while batting at the taller's hand before making a show of straightening his hair.

Naruto stepped over, throwing an arm around the Game King's shoulders. "Then I'm borrowing this."

When the blonde ninja turned, he spun the boy with him. Yugi began to stumble as the fox-boy didn't give him time to catch his balance before walking on.

Serenity looked on, a worried gleam in her eyes. She jumped slightly as a hand was placed on her shoulder. "Don't worry. Naruto will take good care of him. He just wants him to meet a couple of people." At Serenity's slow nod, Iruka squeezed her shoulder and walked off.

After a couple of minutes of walking/dragging, Yugi finally asked, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see. I have a couple of people I want you to meet, properly."

Yugi nodded, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. The land began to open up to stone and dirt, and Yugi could hear and smell running water. Shortly after those sensations, he could see two graves overlooking the water way. Soon Naruto brought them both to a stop. There was a moment of silence before the blonde began to excitedly speak. "Zabuza, Haku, I want you both to meet Yugi. You're first meetings have been a bit rock, but he's my friend now, and he's a good guy."

Yugi blushed a bit at the praise, but bowed respectfully to the gravesites. "It's very nice to properly meet you both. I'm sorry you had to be drug into that Shadow Game, Zabuza. We didn't realize Danzou would try using deceased warriors as well. Our side was our loyal monsters and guardians. But you don't have to worry about him trying to hurt Naruto when we get back. He's reliving every horrible deed he's done in the name of his greed as if he were the people he did it to. I'm not sure how long the Shadows will keep him, but he will be a whole new person when they are done."

Suddenly, three misty forms appeared. Both solid boys recognized two, just not the same. Yugi smiled brightly at the spirit of the Pharaoh. "Feeling left out, big brother?"

"You could say that, little one." Atem chuckled.

Naruto slowly stepped towards the other two. "Haku, Zabuza…How?"

"This area is closer to the spirit world because of our graves. Some kind of pull allowed us to appear in this form before you both as we were being addressed. How this other man arrived, I am unsure." Haku explained.

"Oh, I bet it was my Shadow Magic that gave that pull you felt. Atem's here because he, too, is a spirit, but he is connected to my Shadow Magic. He was my Yami before he was truly laid to rest. He was the one that suggested the Shadow Game because I was angry and upset. My friends and I are not to be threatened." His voice was sweet and innocent as he spoke, though his words were not.

Zabuza grinned. "I like this kid. Sorry about the other day. We have problems with threats, too, and since I had seen you in that fight, I knew you were a possible enemy. I could even feel that darkness around you, but you seem like the kind of kid I could deal with."

Yugi smiled brightly. "Thank you. Oh, Naruto, since you are officially introducing your friends here, I should do the same." He stepped aside, motioning toward the spirit beside him. "This is the great Pharaoh, Atem. You can also call him Yami. He's my ancestor connected to be through my Shadow Magic. But more than my ancestor, he's my best friend and big brother."

Atem blushed at the younger's words. His translucent arms wrapped around his tiny shoulders in a hug. "And you, little one, are my little brother, and you shall forever be so." After a beat and Yugi returning the hug, the modern duelist turned to his new blonde friend.

"Atem, now you can officially meet Naruto, my newest friend."

The elder chuckled before stepping toward the living ninja, hand raised. "It is nice to finally meet you in person. I have been watching you and getting to know you through Yugi." In awe, Naruto shook hands with the once great leader and protector of Egypt. After, and while the fox-boy sputtered some, Atem turned to the other two spirits. "You are the protectors of this village, I surmise." At their nods, he continued. "You are doing well. I am sorry as well that you were pulled into our dispute. I am glad; however, that the two of you released my Hikari. Otherwise, I would not have been so gracious. You would have seen the force that protected my kingdom and my loved ones. Why were you on such high alert to use such drastic methods? I would not believe a 'kill first, question later' philosophy would work well in this realm with possible allies everywhere."

"Well, first was the thing with Danzou,, that much is obvious. But even before that, a member of the Akatsuki tried to just walk in to the village. We ran him off, but him and his partner kept hanging around, even after the other was taken with me to work as Danzou's pawn. I guess after that, they took off to Konoha to figure out what happened. That was about a week before you showed up. We didn't want to take any chances you were from either group, and I was pretty sure the solid one was the leader of the little group. It tended to work well in my old village, Mizu, to kill the leader of any team or the strongest member. The rest usually fell into place." Zabuza explained.

"But you gotta remember, Zabuza, your village was the most sadistic of all the ninja villages when you were becoming a genin and before Oto was actually considered a village. You were the kid that slaughtered an entire class of academy students before you were old enough to enter the academy. They lost so many potential ninjas over the years, and the ones that survived were ultra brutal. The major council finally stopped that practice, but still. That's why the 'kill the leader' worked so well." Naruto countered.

Yugi stepped forward, "Wait, you said that one of the ones on your team in the Shadow Game was on his way to Konoha and a member of Akatsuki?" His voice was worried.

"It was a guess as to his destination, but he was a member of Akatsuki. His name was Itachi and his partner was Kisame." Haku clarified.

"I remember him. He used fire didn't he?" Yugi said thoughtfully. Suddenly his large eyes widened. "Hey, Naruto, Itachi is Sasuke's brother right? I know Joey told you what I saw when we walked past the Uchiha complex." Naruto slowly nodded. Yugi continued. "If Itachi is headed that way we need to let the others know. We may be able to clear his name. Serenity's unlocked the power of the necklace; I can since it. She can use it to see his real past, what actually happened that night. We'll have to leave soon, before they send out a group to get us, or they get orders to leave."

Naruto shook his head. "They won't be ordered to leave, Gaara and I are too important to be given up on, sadly. But it's possible the group may send more grunts after us. Especially since they know we are here and that you guys are probably here too. They'll become interested in your powers if they aren't already and will either try to persuade you to their side, capture you, or kill you."

Yugi and Atem sighed. "Well, at least they aren't after our souls, little one. That's different from the norm."

Yugi giggled. "Yeah, that is a switch for once. But they'll still be after our power, and that gets old."

Atem nodded. After a moment the great Pharaoh shrugged. "You have a great amount of new, strong, and loyal friends. I know you are strong, as well, Yugi, in body, mind, and especially heart. Remember what I said against the 5-God-Dragon to Kaiba: we'll win together, or together we'll fall. Now, I do not believe Naruto brought us here for things to turn so melancholy."

Yugi nodded, smiling and blushing at what his best friend had said. "I like that saying. It goes along with my nindo, which was inspired by Haku here."

That got the group off the depressing subjects and to talking about their pasts and just generally getting to know each other.

It was a couple of hours later that Joey popped up, wondering what had happened to his friends. The warrior duelist was slightly surprised to see the three spirits, but shrugged it off. He grinned to himself before rushing over and grabbing Atem in a headlock of a hug. "Yams! I've missed this spikey head of yours!"

Said spirit struggled to get out of the suffocating hug before giving up and patting the taller's arm. "It's great to see you, too, Joey."

Joey pulled back with a large grin on his face, before it became thoughtful. "How can I touch you, let alone hug you?"

Atem chuckled while Yugi giggled. "We believe it has something to do with how close this place is to the spirit world. That, and probably a bit of my Shadow Magic." Yugi explained.

The blonde duelist just nodded, not much really affected him anymore when it came to that kind of thing. "Hey, I recognize you. You were the dude that attacked Summoned Skull during the Shadow Game." He motioned toward Zabuza.

Joey was then introduced to the other two spirits. The group began to talk again before Yugi remembered about Itachi. He quickly explained what they had told them. The blonde duelist's eyes widened, "We need to let Iruka know. He may want to send off a warning to Tsunade-sama. At the least, we could tell them it's possible they are headed that way. Besides, though I hate to leave, dinner will be ready soon, and Serenity is starting to worry."

The group sighed. Joey had a point, and they had missed lunch. "Hey, maybe we can come back tomorrow and let Serenity meet everyone. She never got to see Atem face-to-face, only when he took control of my body. And Iruka-sensei, too. And maybe before we head home to our world, we can come back and say good bye." Yugi suggested.

The others nodded in agreement. Atem felt a pang of sadness and pain rolling off Yugi, but it was quickly hidden. The Pharaoh knew what his little brother was thinking. He was already thinking of their next parting. He hugged the younger, who hugged him back tightly.

Naruto watched on, confused. He looked to Joey. "What's wrong?"

Joey sighed. "Yug's getting ahead of himself. He's already thinking of Yam's leaving him when all this is over."

The other blonde nodded sadly. He understood how the younger felt. He always hated the thought of being away from his friends. That was why he was so worried and upset over Sasuke.

Shortly after, the three spirits disappeared, and the rest headed back to the small village.

When the group returned to Tsunami's house, Naruto and Joey went to see what they could help the woman with to finish up dinner only to be sent to fetch Iruka, Inari, and Gaara from their watch duty. Yugi stepped into the main room to see if Serenity was there.

He smiled when he saw her. She looked tired and her hair was wet like she had just come from a shower. He made his way over to the girl and felt Atem close the door to his Soul Room with a chuckle and a final "I'll see you in a bit, Aibou." Yugi stood before the girl for a second more before she slowly raised her head to look up at the one watching her.

Serenity smiled at the sight of Yugi and slowly forced herself to sit up. The boy giggled before take a seat beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder, pulling her to his side. She sighed, her head rested on the thin boy's chest. There were a few moments of silence before Yugi quietly broke it. "You look tired. Did you go out and train?"

The auburn haired girl nodded slowly while cuddling into his chest more. "Yeah. I worked with Gaara some. And then I had Iruka-sensei by my practice dummy for my abilities with the Necklace. He had a miserable childhood. I'm starting to think that's a common theme in this world. I even got to practice on Inari." She stopped and began to sniffle. "He saw his adopted father tortured and killed right in front of him during a public display and execution." Her voice was watery.

Yugi hugged her close and began to gently rock her as she began to cry. He lightly kissed the top of her head and spoke quiet words of comfort to her. It hurt him to see her so upset and in pain over something she had no control over. He knew she was also tired and drained, so part of her reaction was from that. She was draped across his lap.

Serenity buried her face into his chest, starting to feel content with where she was. As her tears and sorrow began to subside she wondered if all her distress was a side effect of still learning to control her first Item. That thought forced her mind to begin to wonder. What kind of past did Naruto have to cause him to be so afraid of telling anyone his demon secret? What about Yugi? What was his life like before Yami came along and started his self-appointed duty of protecting and defending the boy? What about their other friends? Why did Tea feel the need to cut all ties with their group after being by their side for so long? She slightly shook herself from her thoughts, deciding it was better to concentrate on the feeling of being in Yugi's arms. Though they weren't ready to admit it, especially with all the threats in this world, she knew without any doubt: she loved the boy. She had for a long while now. She completely fell when she learned the boy was just as incredible as Joey made him out to be.

She heard Yugi quietly humming some tune she didn't recognize. She leaned back and took in the boy's face. His large beautiful amethyst eyes were closed; his full eyelashes were gently kissing his round cheeks. As if feeling her eyes on him, the small teen opened them to show the large innocent orbs. Their eyes met, and they could feel a tug toward the other. Slowly they started to move toward each other. After a second their lips caressed in a sweet and shy kiss that seemed to last forever for the young couple. Their eyes slid shut as they began to lose themselves in the kiss.

The moments pass by slowly while the two ignore the outside world. Atem noticed the quiet and thought his young official brother had fallen asleep on the couch with the girl. He was quite surprised to find his Aibou locked in a kiss with the girl, but he was also extremely happy. His young one would no longer feel so alone in his life after he was forced to return to the afterlife. Part of him knew they would both be saddened at being separated once again, but they both had the one they were meant to spend the rest of their lives with by their sides. That gave the Pharaoh some comfort. His little one would heal much easier now.

The tow pulled away from the kiss, somewhat reluctantly. Yugi smiled gently down at Serenity. Both had a dusting of a blush across their cheeks. The girl shyly returned the smile. "Feeling better?" Yugi quietly asked.

"Much. Thank you." Serenity answered, equally quiet.

"I'm glad. I don't like seeing you so hurt." Yugi hugged her close.

Serenity giggled as one of his bangs tickled her cheek. "I feel so safe right now, here curled against you. I feel like I don't have to worry about anyone or anything."

The girl sighed, burying herself even more into his arms. The young man smiled; his own worries disappearing. He knew Atem would have to leave again, eventually. It wouldn't do to waste what time they had left together thinking about and being upset over something that was still a while away, and they had no control over. He got to spend his nights in his Soul Room, curled up by his big brother's side or being taught by the elder. He had to be happy with what he had and deal with what would come after. At least now he knew he had people that would truly help him through the loneliness and heartbreak of losing his brother once again. At the moment, he was extremely happy to have Serenity in his arms and feeling Atem's watchful and approving stare. Then he could feel the young man smile before he retired for the day, leaving the two completely alone in the living room. Shortly after, Yugi realized Serenity had fallen asleep, so he decided to follow.

Dinner was served an hour later, and once it was finished the large family and group returned to the living room to chat before bed.

The next morning, Naruto and Yugi took Serenity, Joey, and Iruka to the gravesites of the two fallen ninja. Again, the three spirits appeared before them, surprising the elder ninja and the young girl. Serenity had known Yugi and Atem had been close in looks from what her brother had told her of the Ceremonial Duel, but she was shocked at how close they actually were. She could only imagine how much more similar the two looked when the elder was more Japanese looking in skin color and clothing.

The great Pharaoh smiled at the girl before bowing, a gesture he learned from Yugi. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you face to face, Serenity. I already know a great deal about you from my time spent sharing Yugi's body."

Serenity smiled brightly, returning the bow. "It's incredible meeting you finally. Yugi's told me so much about you. I'm so happy to finally be able to meet you. I want to thank you for all that you've done for my brother and me and for Yugi."

Atem chuckled gently. "Yugi was the one to teach me the compassion I had forgotten in the 3,000 years of solitude and darkness. He is the truly incredible one. But you are welcome, nonetheless. Nothing has given me greater joy, besides my wife Mana and my children, than to watch over and protect my little brother and make sure he is happy in life."

Yugi blushed. It felt odd to hear the elder talk about his family in Egypt. He knew that Atem was his ancestor, but to hear him so easily say it was strange.

Atem could feel Yugi's discomfort and smiled, chuckling in his head. *(I'm sorry, little one. It does seem strange that I am already married and have a set of twin boys when I believe it has only been a few months to you that I went home.)* He could feel Yugi mentally nodding.

Joey cringed. "Dude, the idea of you married with kids is freaky. Especially knowing it ain't been long since you were in Yug's body."

Serenity's eyes widened as if just thinking of that as well. Atem and Yugi began to laugh. Swallowing his own feeling of unease, Yugi decided to push his best friend some more. The Yami noticed the mischievous glimmer in his Hikari's eyes before pure innocence took over. The others were watching as well, having become curious after hearing Joey's comment. Naruto also noticed the glint in Yugi's eye. The blonde ninja began to smile.

Joey continued to shudder when Yugi curiously called his name, causing him to look at the innocent face. "But, Joey, how else do you think I got here?"

The blonde was quiet and a bit confused for a moment before he got the insinuation. Instantly the older teen began to blush and sputter, causing Yugi to start giggling, and Naruto to bark out a laugh. Naruto got the others laughing. It was then he realized what Yugi had done. He growled slightly. "Yug…"

Said boy glanced up at his friend, a look of pure innocence on his face. "Yes, Joey?"

Suddenly, Joey lunged forward, trying to grab the smaller teen. Yugi yelped before diving behind Atem. The spirit chuckled, but stood in protection of his brother. Zabuza laughed out. "I know I'd like this kid!"

Serenity just sighed as Joey dove around the spirit of the Pharaoh, grabbing at the smaller teen. Yugi giggled even louder as Atem cut the other off, laughter in the elder's eyes. The little one ran behind Naruto next, gripping the hem of his jacket. The blonde looked at Joey who had the spirit in some form of a head-lock, both laughing happily. The entire group, even Haku and Zabuza, joined in on the little game the small inadvertently started. Eventually, the non-spirits were worn down and a bit tired, but they were all still laughing and giggling.

Atem was holding Yugi up, against his chest as the boy worked to control his laughing and breathing. Serenity was leaning against her brother. She was still giggling and trying to catch her breath. She hadn't had that much fun in a long while. Naruto laid on the grown beside Iruka, still laughing loudly. Iruka just simply shook his head as the other two spirits stood over everyone, a smirk and smile on their faces.

"Wow that was awesome. I've never been able to just play." Naruto finally spoke up. All eyes turned toward his still prone form. "As a kid, I was hated by pretty much the whole village. No one let their kids play with me. I was the freakish monster everyone wanted dead. When I did get friends, we were pretty much all adults or too busy. There are so many times I wish I could just forget my past, erase it, and just be able to act my age for once in my life."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, digesting what the boy had said. Iruka looked sadly at him. It was Atem that finally broke the silence. "I do not believe any memory is good to forget. Our past is what makes us who we are in this world, in our lives. I did not know anything about myself during my time with Yugi, and I was afraid everyday that what I did not know was going to get him hurt. If it were not for him, I would still be lost in the darkness."

Yugi tilted his head back to look up at his darkness. "You did so much for me during Duelist Kingdom, and you were one of my first true friends, became my brother. I had to do whatever I could to help you. But you are right, Naruto. It is nice to put aside a painful past, forgive it in your heart, and just play. After all the hard duels and putting our lives on the line, it's nice to be able to act age and not worry about what power-hungry nutcase is coming after us next."

They all agreed and were quiet for a bit, just resting and relaxing. Atem was the one to break the silence once again. "We forgot to inform them of what Zabuza and Haku told us yesterday, little one."

Yugi was confused at first before he remembered Itachi and the Uchiha compound. "Oh, yeah. Guys, Itachi was here. They think they may have headed toward Konoha just before we got here because of the Shadow Game. We need to send word so the other know and don't run them off."

Iruka nodded before pulling out a scroll and began to write. Yugi summoned Little Chimera to deliver the message to Tsunade. The small cat-like creature curled around the small duelist's legs, willing him to pet her. Yugi giggled, doing as she wanted. The purple creature took the letter in her mouth after licking her summoner's cheek and dashed off in the direction of the village.

It was another couple of hours before the entire group went back to Tsunami's house. Serenity, Yugi, and Iruka had returned earlier to put together a picnic lunch. Gaara and Inari had returned with them, meeting the three spirits. The group entered the small house laughing at something Joey said.

Tsunami smiled at the sight they made. She was thrilled to see such large smiles on the faces of her son and the two demon holders. She felt so grateful toward the three newcomers. Their acceptance of the two really did a lot for their morale. She giggled before calling out, "Joey, Naruto, would you two clean up and come help me finish dinner?"

She received two positive answers before both boys hurried off to wash up. It was a few minutes before they returned to the kitchen.

Dinner was served an hour later to another filled table. "Will it still be a few days before you guys leave since you found about Itachi and Zabuza?" Inari asked.

"Depends on the response we get in return." Iruka stated. "We may have to leave tomorrow."

The small boy nodded, feeling a bit sad about not being able to spend more time with his friends and brother.

"We'll be back to visit, Inari. We'll make sure to come back before we leave." Yugi assured him.

That brought a smile to the boy's face. "Do you promise?"

Each member nodded, causing an even larger smile to break out on the boy's face.

Conversations were slow afterward; everyone was tired from the day's activity, so after baths they headed to bed. They were all awaiting the news Little Chimera would return with the next day.

The next morning, the darkness monster returned, licking at Yugi's face to waken him. He awoke with a start before beginning to giggle, waking the other boys. Iruka took the letter while Yugi thanked the monster. After reading it, the elder ninja announced, "It would seem we're headed back today. Let's get up and start packing. I'll go let Serenity know to start packing and help Tsunami with breakfast." He headed out after giving out chores for the boys to do once they were finished packing.

The teens nodded and got to work packing. Once done, each set off to do their chores. Joey set to checking what supplies they had left and was soon joined by Serenity. Gaara went to hunt for the meat they would need for the return trip.

Yugi and Naruto set out and quickly returned with both food and supplies. They packed the things up before heading to the final formal breakfast they would have for a couple of weeks. While eating, Joey decided to send out Masaki to check the area and some of the path they would follow to make sure they wouldn't have anything to deal with for at least the first couple of days. By the time they were done, the samurai returned to let them know the coast was clear.

Tearful goodbyes were said between Inari and Naruto. Once that was finished, the group waved at the townspeople gather before heading off. It would be around two weeks before they would be back in civilization. Fortunately, the trip was an uneventful experience. Soon, the large group was standing in front of the gates to Konoha, a welcoming committee, including Tsunade, waiting for them.

They stopped, looks being exchanged, before they started at a near run toward the village. One person broke rank from those at the gates. She ran directly to Naruto, arms open.


End file.
